First of all, that's just the title. The substance of the article is not in its title, it's in its content.
Second, even considering the title alone, it's a trivial phrase, that is not supposed to mean much aside that she is among the most popular public intellectuals in Britain. Nobody put out a love-o-meter and measured who the "most beloved intellectual" is with a precision to judge who is #1 or #5 or anything.
Lastly, the denotation "intellectual" here is not meant to be about the hard sciences, I'd say. They'd say "scientist" if that was the case.
Second, even considering the title alone, it's a trivial phrase, that is not supposed to mean much aside that she is among the most popular public intellectuals in Britain. Nobody put out a love-o-meter and measured who the "most beloved intellectual" is with a precision to judge who is #1 or #5 or anything.
Lastly, the denotation "intellectual" here is not meant to be about the hard sciences, I'd say. They'd say "scientist" if that was the case.