Matthew Yglesias writes: "Academics have real jobs and will only perform the great public service of blogging about what they know if they happen to be egomaniacs."
He's certainly got me nailed. :-)
Posted by DeLong at September 28, 2004 11:06 AM | TrackBackMatthew Yglesias: Where Have All The Experts Gone: It hasn't taken Ed Kilgore very long to catch the navel-gazing bug, but he's right. One thing I thought was sort of unfortunate about Klam's article -- though I understand why he did it -- is that it left out the most boring, but probably most valuable, sub-sector of blogging. Namely, the expert blogger. The folks who do this well are creating some extremely useful stuff, especially for those of us whose business it is to be semi-informed about a wide range of things. And, in my opinion, we don't have nearly enough of them. Juan Cole is great, but why don't we have two, three, four Juan Coles. Only in the field of law, or so it seems to me, are there a sufficient number of expert bloggers that one can count on a critical mass of posts emerging when something important (a big Supreme Court case, usually) comes up that let readers follow the back and forth of debate and really learn something. A related -- and expanding -- blogospheric niche is the DC wonk blog, as seen by the efforts of Rotherham, Kilgore, Clemons, and Schmitt (sporadically). This, I think, holds a great deal of promise.
Academics have real jobs and will only perform the great public service of blogging about what they know if they happen to be egomaniacs. Think tankers and other such people one encounters here in DC, on the other hand, really are just being paid to disseminate ideas throughout the world. And blogs are probably a more cost-effective way of doing that than most efforts at print publication.
You and me both, Brad. Although since I've never met Matt, I'm curious as to how he found out my darkest inner secrets ;)
Posted by: hilzoy at September 28, 2004 11:33 AMIgnore Yglesias. I remember a time when I thought like him, in high school.
Pandagon are younger, smarter, and better looking. Therefore they are much more deserving of brooksie credit.
Posted by: astrid at September 28, 2004 11:39 AMI was just happy for someone to say in seriousness that "Academics have real jobs."
Posted by: SloLernr at September 28, 2004 12:04 PMI suppose Juan Cole is an egomaniac...I am not sure where Matt is coming from, except that he seems to take off and come from there quite often.
Posted by: Carol at September 28, 2004 12:45 PM
Yes, but you should have used the royal "we" in this post: "He's certainly got us nailed."
I probably shouldn't mention that when I first read that, this blog did come to mind. :)
But hey, while I'm not an academic, I'm probably even more of an egomaniac, since I have absolutely no expertise whatsoever in anything that I ever post about. I guess that makes me a lot like Matt, only without being able to lord the "being a paid journalist" thing over everybody.
Posted by: fling93 at September 28, 2004 12:48 PMI think it was tongue-in-cheek.
Posted by: JP at September 28, 2004 12:56 PMI'm an academic, and the reason I don't blog is because 1) most of my research is mathematical and few would understand it 2) most of the comments on blogs and other discussion forums are idiotic and 3) I find brick and mortar discussions (which is why I would blog, to discuss) much more satisfying.
Juan Cole, who I think has the best blog I've read, writes his opinion on news and events related to the Middle East, I believe, because he understands that his opinions are in the fantastic minority in the US. I believe he's explicitly stated so, usually whenever he receives threats for his opinions about Israel's apartheid and occupation and then feels the need to explain why he's going to continue providing his opinion. Without him providing his excellent service, there would be no one else to provide it -- which I think he also understands.
Posted by: Adam Morgan at September 28, 2004 01:05 PMWhy Oh Why Can't We Have a More Humble and Self-Effacing Academic Blogger Community?
Posted by: praktike at September 28, 2004 01:20 PMIf you come looking to learn the rules or the basics of texas
holdem, check out our Poker
Basics, or our Texas
Holdem strategy section. You be able to find out both how the game is played,
and how to play the game better.
I think that Matt was just being characteristically snarky.
I would say that in once sense the opposite is true. An academic who blogs, with comments, or who writes for the NYT, is less arrogant abouthis specialization than most academics. Possibly because he's confident enough about his work to be willing to talk about it with people from different fields, or even with pure civilians such as myself. And pushing my point to the limit, perhaps someone who still believes in politics rather than administrative government by experts.
Posted by: zizka / John Emerson at September 28, 2004 04:13 PM"If you come looking to learn the rules or the basics of texas holdem"
And MY complains about a lack of expert blogs. He should read comment sections more.
Posted by: bob mcmanus at September 28, 2004 04:50 PMThat's funny. I just recently put up a Texas Hold 'Em post myself. Not that I'm an expert on that either.
Posted by: fling93 at September 28, 2004 06:40 PMOkay, this comment is completely off topic, but I can easily ask more academic economists here than any other place I know. After the last election, the red-blue maps were all the rage. It was popular (but silly) to point out how many more square miles the Bush counties added up to than the Gore counties. Where would one find the data to see how much of GDP the blue counties added up to versus the red ones?
Thanks in advance,
Posted by: Michael Cain at September 28, 2004 09:25 PMonline poker
Posted by: online poker at September 29, 2004 01:07 AMAndrew Cline of Rhetorica (and Jay Manifold of voyage to arcturus) is trying to do something like this (expose the expert bloggers) with 411blog.net - see his Sept 27 2004 post here introducing it -
http://rhetorica.net/archives/002603.html#002603
2112 http://www.texas-hold-em-i.com play texas hold em online here.
Posted by: texas hold em at October 11, 2004 07:49 AMYour safe Online Pharmacy
Posted by: Your safe Online Pharmacy at October 12, 2004 10:49 PM2240 http://www.e-texas-hold-em.com
texas hold em
Posted by: texas hold em at October 14, 2004 07:39 AMhome mortgage loan
Posted by: home mortgage loan at October 15, 2004 12:51 AMOnline Masters Degree Programs
Posted by: Online Masters Degree Programs at October 16, 2004 12:51 AM3886 http://www.rapid-debt-consolidation.com
consolidate debt
Posted by: debt consolidation at October 16, 2004 02:47 PMonline casino
Posted by: online casino at October 18, 2004 01:51 PM3362 You only get one set of teeth. Take care of them with a good
dental plan. Dental
insurance is
money well spent. I sleep better since I signed up for my new dental insurance
plan.
Get yours at: http://dental-insurance-plan.freeservers.com/
http://www.online-sports-betting-source.com
online sports betting
Sports Betting Odds
Sports Betting Line
Football Sports Betting
NCAA Sports Betting
NFL Football Betting Line
American Football Betting
Online American Football Betting
Online Football Betting Lines
Online Sports Book
NFL Football Odds
NCAA Football Odds
Las Vegas Football Odds
2004 Super Bowl Odds
Sports Book Betting
Las Vegas Sports Book
Sports Book Odds
Internet Sports Gambling
Sports Betting Information
College Football Betting Odds
College Betting Line
NFL Point Spread
NCAA Point Spread
Super Bowl Point Spread
Vegas Point Spread
Legal Sports Betting
Online Betting Odds
Online Sports Book Betting
Online Sports Betting Site
home based business
home based business
opportunity
2833 online casino games
4794 You know anti wrinkle cream
can work Did you know online degree gets you jobs? online degrees
Online Casino Games
Posted by: Online Casino Games at October 24, 2004 02:05 AMmortgage leads
Posted by: mortgage leads at October 26, 2004 01:27 AMmortgage leads
Posted by: mortgage leads at October 26, 2004 02:17 AM5650 jobs online part time jobs work online work online from home work at home work from home online jobs work at home jobs work at home business jobs
Full time jobs dental plan dental
insurance
dental insurance
plan
discount dental
plans
cheap dental
plans
individual dental
plans
4137 http://www.i--cialis.net
Offering Cialis with overnight delivery. Also, If your looking for generic cialis this is a good site to visit.
refinance mortgage
Posted by: refinance mortgage at October 29, 2004 01:27 AM5933 Kona Coffee Starbucks Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain
Coffee
coffee maker gourmet coffee green mountain coffee kenya coffee organic coffee specialty coffee folgers coffee coffee brewers costa rica coffee Tullys Coffee Millstone Coffee coffee grinder http://www.coffee-delivered.com
Local phone service
Posted by: local phone service at November 4, 2004 12:03 AMUp to 5 Rooms FREE, FREE Standard Installation, FREE Shipping, FREE Choice of DVD Player, Digital Camera or Luggage/Backpack, FREE HBO and Cinemax for 3 Months
Posted by: direct tv at November 4, 2004 12:29 AMUp to 5 Rooms FREE, FREE Standard Installation, FREE Shipping, FREE Choice of DVD Player, Digital Camera or Luggage/Backpack, FREE HBO and Cinemax for 3 Months, the best freeking deal on the planet
Posted by: direct tv at November 5, 2004 04:38 AMShoulder Bag, Purse, Carry-On, Bag, Tote, Knitting Bag
Posted by: Puppets at November 6, 2004 03:11 PMI have more humility in my little finger than you have in your whole
____BODY!
-- from Cerebus #82
Credit Report http://www.credit-report-x.com
Nice to see a quality blog for a change!Looking for some propecia?
Posted by: propecia at November 8, 2004 12:49 PM5197
directv
direct tv directv satellite direct tv satellite directv dvr direct tv dvr direct tv tivo directv tivo directway
direcway
directway internet directway satellite direcway internet direcway internet free hbo free cinemax free dvd player satellite radio http://www.satellitetvboutique.com
directv
direct tv
directv satellite direct tv satellite directv dvr direct tv dvr direct tv tivo directv tivo directway
direcway
directway internet directway satellite direcway internet direcway internet free hbo free cinemax free dvd player satellite radio http://satellite-tv.cjb.net
A payday loans secured by a personal check - such as a payday loan - is very expensive credit. Let's say you write a personal check for $115 to borrow $100 in quick cash for up to 14 days. The check casher or payday lender agrees to hold the check until your next payday loan cash. At that time, depending on the particular plan, the lender deposits the check, you redeem the check by paying the $115 in cash, or you roll-over the check by paying a fee to extend the payday loans for another two weeks. In this example, the cost of the initial loan is a $15 finance charge and 391 percent APR. If you roll-over the loan three times, the finance charge would climb to $60 to borrow $100 payday loan cash advance.
Posted by: Payday Loan Cash at November 19, 2004 08:55 PMgeneric viagra information including how to buy online at cheap prices , find out about generic viagra here.
4159 Kona Coffee Starbucks Coffee Jamaica Blue Mountain
Coffee
coffee maker gourmet coffee green mountain coffee kenya coffee organic coffee specialty coffee folgers coffee coffee brewers costa rica coffee Tullys Coffee Millstone Coffee coffee grinder
http://www.coffee-delivered.com
You only get one set of teeth. Take care of them with a good
dental plan.
Dental
insurance is
money well spent. I sleep better since I signed up for my new dental insurance
plan.
Get yours at: http://dental-insurance-plan.freeservers.com/
individual
dental
plans
You only get one set of teeth. Take care of them with a good
dental plan.
Dental
insurance is
money well spent. I sleep better since I signed up for my new
dental insurance
plan.
Get yours at:
http://www.dental-plan-source.com
individual dental
plans
You only get one set of teeth. Take care of them with a good
dental plan.
Dental
insurance is
money well spent. I sleep better since I signed up for my new
dental insurance
plan. Get yours at:
http://www.e-dental-insurance-plans.com/
individual dental
plans
Well Done! keep it up!
Posted by: Tranny Hunt at November 24, 2004 04:47 PMI guess there is nothing i can say but ask you to keep everything as it is
Posted by: Totally Teen at November 24, 2004 04:48 PMNIce Feature Site
Posted by: Upskirts Mania at November 26, 2004 11:52 PMGreat blog you got here!
Posted by: Upskirt Sniper at November 27, 2004 04:45 PMNIce Feature Site
Posted by: Wet Lesbian at November 27, 2004 04:58 PM6197 Very well said chappy.
Posted by: click at November 28, 2004 02:38 AM