Only An Academic

Some amusing observations from Ali:

On being stumped

Non-Academic: "I don't know"
vs.
Academic: "I can't answer that with any degree of precision."

Explaining a Graph

Non-Academic: "Just looking at it, it seems that the trend is..."
vs.
Academic: "Applying ocular econometrics to it, it seems that the trend is..."

Elsewhere, Ali also notes things only an economist would say:

An economist is defined as a person who asks a question that no one else does, and answers it in a way no one else understands.

This is from an important paper I'm studying these days:

"This estimator answers the question, if this newspaper were a congressperson, how Republican would that congressperson's district be?"

The funny thing is, that with my economist's hat on, the question becomes serious and relevant. But then I take my economist's hat off, and giggle like a little girl!

Silly academics...