Re: equilibrium & Joan Robinson

["James K. Galbraith" <lpgc403@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A note on Lawrence Moss's remark:


Pkters may enjoy this anecdote. When Joan Robinson came to Harvard for her
honorary degree in 1982 or thereabouts, I had the privilege of escorting her
around town the next day.  Stranded in a hotel lobby waiting for something
for fifteen minutes or so, she turned to me and said (this is verbatim;
those who knew Joan will recognize the syntax and will hear the tones in
their head):

"When they FINALLY get around to giving me my Nobel Prize, I shall have to
say what my contribution was. And I shall say that I invented the
distinction, between a 'thought experiment' and a 'hypothesis.'"


She then went on to deliver most of the rest of her Nobel lecture, but alas
this is the only bit that sticks in my mind today.
****

James Galbraith
The University of Texas at Austin
LPGC403@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
fax (512) 471-1835