One of the things I love most about Wikipedia, blogs, and the like, is that it makes it easier for anyone to challenge "experts" such as university professors like myself. I love any story where an expert is proven wrong. Here is an interesting story I recently discovered.
Consider David Foster Wallace, one of the most popular writers in the twentieth century. Rolling Stone recently wrote a piece about Wallace, and his interactions with English professors at the University of Arizona. Wallace turned in a novel called Here and There, which the professor replied, "I hope this isn't representative of the work you're hoping to do for us. We'd hate to lose you." That novel was subsequently published and sold well.
The professors were not the only one mistaken. When he sent the novel to editors for consideration, many returned rejection letters which Wallace summed up as saying, "Best of luck in your janitorial career."
Even Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species, by far the most important writing in history, was not recommended for publication by most of the editors. One editor just happened to take a chance on Darwin.
There are two lessons to these interesting anecdotes. First, if you have an idea you truly believe in, regardless of what others say, NEVER GIVE UP! Second, when teaching and advising students, remember that though you are are indeed something of an expert, you are indeed certain to be wrong at times. Students hate an arrogant professor, because they know the arrogance is not justified - and it isn't, not for anyone.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
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- 2008 AGEC 4213 Nerd of the Year!
- Trust Me: I'm Good For It
- Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History
- Green Energy
- Interesting Ag Facts
- Interesting Ag Facts
- Explaining Price Indices
- Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Egg Consumption: 1910-2006
- Corn and Gasoline Prices
- The Great Depression - Maybe We Learned Something
- Keynesian Perspective
- With Real Poets, It is Hard To Tell
- Ag Career Info
- Why Neoclassical Theory is Important
- It is more than that...
- Don't Forget...
- King Camp Gillette: Hero of Capitalism
- Gains From Trade...And Love
- The Importance of Insurance
- Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the pl...
- Hereos of Capitalism
- Bird Spectacles
- Farm Animal Welfare: A Rare Statement of Truth
- Turkey Torture
- Explaining "Stimulus Package" to Students
- The Cow Tax
- The Market for Organic Eggs
- For Misplaced Southerners
- The Utility of Positive Emotion
- The Great Depression - We Learned Nothing
- Politically [un]Popular Ethanol
- Food Tales
- An Omnivore's Solution
- Cage Versus Cage Free
- The Cost of Happy Hogs
- The Importance of Economics
- Interesting Ag Facts
- American Socialism
- QLD livestock producers support fine increase
- Why Not Just Say "Farmer"
- The Pitfalls of Organic Food
- The Indifference Principle - In Practice
- Beef Prices in the 80's
- Broom Corn
- I, Broom
- Hello From Detroit
- God is Dead
- Laissez-Faire Higher Ed
- Secretary of Ag Michael Pollan
- The Fatal Conceit
- Steven Horwitz's An Open Letter to my Friends on t...
- We may begin hearing increased support for a bailo...
- Cattle, Hog, and Egg Prices: 1920-2002
- Steinbeck Talks About Food
- Sophistry
- Horrible Ideas
- Thinking About Graduate School?
- Economists Are Brilliant!!!!
- Thinking Like An Economist
- Picking Winners
- An Overview of the Agribusiness Degree
- Financial Crisis and Lending to the Poor
- Becoming a Great Teacher: Part 8
- We are all Socialists (1/3, at least)
- Trading Class Notes
- Humbling the Professor
- A New Approach to M.S. Theses
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