Paul Krugman, Nobel Laureate
I suddenly realized the remarkable extent to which the methodology of economics creates blind spots. We just don't see what we can't formalize. And the biggest blind spot of all has involved increasing returns.
That's Krugman from an essay on how he works. Here is a taste of his dark side. I also know many people who will agree that George W. Bush, apart from all his other failings, also managed to make the world a much more boring place via his effect on Krugman.
Reading The Accidental Theorist
at a tender age was a revelation for me, and it started a chain reaction that changed my life in a way no other book has. Paul Krugman, thank you; and the most heartfelt congratulations!
Amen brother. Well done the big Krugster!
If that's his "dark side" (where the response is that the CEA has been "predicting a return to trend"—instead of looking at the data), the world only became more boring because it proved he was correct in reading the GWB-campaign's policy papers eight years ago.