I am glad that you confirmed my sense that he does indeed have a wicked sense of humor!

I got his email address from Case-Western Reserve website. lawrence dot krauss at case dot edu.

I often try emailing people in high places when I have a Q or think they might be interested in an observation. I almost always get a response. But you must judge that your communication will interest the recipient.

I never had thought of emailing Krauss, but now I would like to, knowing that he responds. What email addy did you use for him? I guess you should put it in code in case there are bots about, but I can probably translate.

That was just great! Thanks again.

That was great! Thanks for sharing. I do appreciate those ’sharp elbows’, you know how to use them well, powerfully and with true class!

Lahoma

Here’s the exchange:
Me to him:

Dr. Krauss,

I just finished watching a rebroadcast of your AEI lecture on CSPAN2.

I appreciated it very much and wanted to pass along a related comment.

I spent nearly three decades as a Wall Street economist, forecasting the U.S. economy, inflation, corporate profits and interest rates. However, I was a chemistry major as an undergraduate.* That gave me a big leg up against my competitors because I actually looked at what the evidence revealed, while they mined the data to support their favorite theory.

I had to laugh at the Qs at AEI. The reason is that they are at the heart of faith-based foreign policy and economics. They always allow “belief to trump empirical data” (your words). Your message was very threatening to them. I am distressed with the status of economic policy in this country, which is destroying the middle class, part of the AEI dogma. (They would say that only the rich and the corporations create jobs & the economy more generally.)

You might be amazed at how the idea that belief should guide one’s every move has permeated the U.S. establishment, and their only appeal to empiricism is to cherry pick data. (Think Iraq.) Again, that is why science is so threatening. It’s not just its relationship with religion that’s the problem for the anti-scientists, it’s the idea that their leadership should be tested against outcomes, as the scientific method would require.

A minor suggestion: when you talk about the anti-hierarchical nature of science, refer to the scientific “process.” That would eliminate the confusion of your listeners who feel that they must resort to scientific experts.

Very truly yours,
Rosanne Cahn

*When asked why I switched fields by someone who hadn’t seen me for 30 years, I blurted out: because science is hard and economics is easy.

His reply:

thanks.. I appreciate the note.. agree with you re scientific “process”… and agree with your other comments, which were
reinforced when I was informed after the event that the AEI people thought it was a crummy talk that didn’t treat them with
enough intellectual dignity.

LMK

My rejoinder:

Ha. Translation: didn’t agree with their belief system. Knew it. Was very clear in the Qs. You’re braver than most, going into the belly of the beast. (Did you understand what you were getting into in advance?) Good for you.

His final:

yes.. I am a masochist.. have done fox news too.. :)