Behavioral Economics

Taleb gets a shout-out here from NYTimes columnist David Brooks.

I wonder about the legitimacy of behavioral economics in Economics departments across the United States though. So far as I know, undergraduate programs pay it lip service at best. I suppose injecting psychology into the study of economics would detract from the discipline's increasingly mathematical orientation and scientific pretension.

I once expressed to a professor of mine an interest to pursue graduate studies in Economic History. He informed me that economic historians carry just about zero clout and hold just about zero sway over economic policy or the way that economics is taught/studied. Sad reality. The idea of studying models or econometric methodology strikes me as so damned ahistorical, though.

And of course: we should not assume. Because if you assume, then you make an "ass" out of "u" and "me." Take that Econ!