In 1998, Paul Krugman predicted the internet's impact on the economy would be no greater than the fax machine's

nikt, 10 months ago

Economists in general are notoriously bad at predicting things.

But I wonder if they’re really no better or worse than other sciences, only they get called out on their bad predictions more than others because those predictions tend to be so relevant to our everyday lives?

Lexam, 10 months ago

I think people underestimate the impact the fax machine had on the economy.

Mongostein, 10 months ago

Is just being wrong a Leopards Ate My Face moment? Were there negative consequences to him saying this?

Lucidlethargy, 10 months ago

Oh, an optomist… I can relate.

OldGreyTroll, 10 months ago

@DevCat This seems to be an application of Clarke’s First Law:

When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong. - Arthur C. Clarke