Abdullah, I rarely listen to NPR anymore as I no longer commute, but I did happen to catch your segment, not realizing it was you. So neat for you and your family for "making it". As a former young (political) economist who left the academy for the business world, I appreciate your work. Keep it going!
There is a huge elephant in this room, and we do our students a disservice if we do not point it out to them. Fundamentally, we cannot be 100% sure in our understanding, and it would be misleading for us to say so. I hear Neal DeGrasse Tyson talk about how "science tells us objective reality", and I think that he ought to learn more about Critical Thinking. One aspect is that there is a crisis in the sciences -- not only is there very significant question about the interpretation of data -- in economics we see ideological or paradigmatic bias which can mislead researchers in interpreting data, but the data itself is subject to subtle bias in the way it is collected, the form in which census questions are worded, the collations that are made or not made, the instruments by which information is collected and the ways it is measured, and on and on. This is before we even touch on deliberate falsehoods, which are uncomfortably present in some economic theory, in research papers on which economists depend in order to obtain tenure and respect in the profession, in the work of "think-tanks", which somehow never publish results that clash with their underlying liberal or conservative bias... We should not talk about this as an incentive for students to believe in nothing -- as Hannah Arendt famously said, this is the end of democracy -- we should point out pitfalls that they should avoid, that the responsible economists you mention are fully aware of and do their best to avoid. It is very interesting to me that at the end of the day, along with thinking critically about the data itself we need to examine the character of the person we are listening to -- not whether what they are saying agrees with our pre-existing bias or not, but are they attentive to the well-being of other people, even people who are not like them? Are they more interested in finding out what is really there, rather than in confirming what they think? Do they take cultural and other context into account? In other words: are they people of honor and integrity, empathy and deep understanding? Such old-fashioned words, which express aspects of character we need to look for, even in those who report our economic data.
Abdullah, as I read this, "Somewhere right now, there is a young economist just starting their journey. Being a role model for them matters to me more than any byline ever could.", I thought of what an important role model you were for me during my undergrad years, particularly as I considered pursuing a Ph.D. Please know you had a substantial impact on my education and career, and it's so rewarding to be in this econ education space together now. I have so much respect for you and your dedication to educating others on important economic issues. You inspire me to continually improve my teaching to be the best econ educator that I can be. So, thank you for what you do--your work is important and is making a difference.
Dr. Reed, thank you for this incredibly meaningful note. Knowing I played a role in your journey, especially as you were considering a Ph.D., is truly humbling. Seeing you now in the econ education space reminds me why teaching matters and why this work is worth doing. I’m grateful to have taught you, and even more thankful to now learn alongside you. Your commitment to students and to continually improving your teaching is inspiring. Thank you for being part of this community and for your encouragement. It means so much to me.
Abdullah, I rarely listen to NPR anymore as I no longer commute, but I did happen to catch your segment, not realizing it was you. So neat for you and your family for "making it". As a former young (political) economist who left the academy for the business world, I appreciate your work. Keep it going!
Oh wow. I love the coincidence. Thanks Ron. I appreciate you.
There is a huge elephant in this room, and we do our students a disservice if we do not point it out to them. Fundamentally, we cannot be 100% sure in our understanding, and it would be misleading for us to say so. I hear Neal DeGrasse Tyson talk about how "science tells us objective reality", and I think that he ought to learn more about Critical Thinking. One aspect is that there is a crisis in the sciences -- not only is there very significant question about the interpretation of data -- in economics we see ideological or paradigmatic bias which can mislead researchers in interpreting data, but the data itself is subject to subtle bias in the way it is collected, the form in which census questions are worded, the collations that are made or not made, the instruments by which information is collected and the ways it is measured, and on and on. This is before we even touch on deliberate falsehoods, which are uncomfortably present in some economic theory, in research papers on which economists depend in order to obtain tenure and respect in the profession, in the work of "think-tanks", which somehow never publish results that clash with their underlying liberal or conservative bias... We should not talk about this as an incentive for students to believe in nothing -- as Hannah Arendt famously said, this is the end of democracy -- we should point out pitfalls that they should avoid, that the responsible economists you mention are fully aware of and do their best to avoid. It is very interesting to me that at the end of the day, along with thinking critically about the data itself we need to examine the character of the person we are listening to -- not whether what they are saying agrees with our pre-existing bias or not, but are they attentive to the well-being of other people, even people who are not like them? Are they more interested in finding out what is really there, rather than in confirming what they think? Do they take cultural and other context into account? In other words: are they people of honor and integrity, empathy and deep understanding? Such old-fashioned words, which express aspects of character we need to look for, even in those who report our economic data.
Abdullah, as I read this, "Somewhere right now, there is a young economist just starting their journey. Being a role model for them matters to me more than any byline ever could.", I thought of what an important role model you were for me during my undergrad years, particularly as I considered pursuing a Ph.D. Please know you had a substantial impact on my education and career, and it's so rewarding to be in this econ education space together now. I have so much respect for you and your dedication to educating others on important economic issues. You inspire me to continually improve my teaching to be the best econ educator that I can be. So, thank you for what you do--your work is important and is making a difference.
Dr. Reed, thank you for this incredibly meaningful note. Knowing I played a role in your journey, especially as you were considering a Ph.D., is truly humbling. Seeing you now in the econ education space reminds me why teaching matters and why this work is worth doing. I’m grateful to have taught you, and even more thankful to now learn alongside you. Your commitment to students and to continually improving your teaching is inspiring. Thank you for being part of this community and for your encouragement. It means so much to me.