Paul Krugman – Quote Investigator®

Quote Origin: It Will Become Clear That the Internet’s Impact on the Economy Has Been No Greater Than the Fax Machine’s

Paul Krugman? Herman Kahn? Steven D. Levitt? Stephen J. Dubner? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Predicting the technological future is enormously difficult. Will society ever have flying cars, home robots, or cities on Mars? The opinions of enthusiasts, skeptics, and experts are highly variable. The record of most prognosticators has been poor. Apparently, during the …

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The Stupid Person’s Idea of the Clever Person

Speaker: Julie Burchill? Elizabeth Bowen? Ezra Klein? Paul Krugman? Andrew Sullivan? Hermione Eyre? William Donaldson? Target: Stephen Fry? Aldous Huxley? Dick Armey? Newt Gingrich? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, I heard an uncomplimentary quip applied to an intellectual. Here are three versions: The stupid person’s idea of a clever person The dumb person’s idea of a …

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It Is Difficult to Get a Man to Understand Something When His Salary Depends Upon His Not Understanding It

Upton Sinclair? H. L. Mencken? William Jennings Bryan? C. E. M. Joad? Christopher Matthews? Paul Krugman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Financial incentives can compromise the critical faculties of an individual. Here are four versions of this insight: Never argue with a man whose job depends on not being convinced. It is difficult to get a …

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