… is from page 163 of the 2012 revised and updated edition of Steven Landsburg’s great book The Armchair Economist:
Shakespeare notwithstanding, it is not exclusively the idiot who dispenses sound and fury. My file bulges with contributions from demonstrably thoughtful individuals whose insight has failed them on at least one very public occasion. An economist might be tempted to remark that such failures are to be expected because they are not severely punished. Most readers turn to the Internet and the op-ed pages for entertainment, not enlightenment, and the writer’s incentive is to supply what his readers demand.
