In my own small tribute to Leonard Nimoy, it seems appropriate to recall a 1997 article I wrote in The Independent pointing to Mr Spock, along with Hercule Poirot, as the ideal rational economic man. Economists seem particularly keen on the two genres of science fiction and detective fiction I argue there, and both Noah Smith and I have revisited that theme.
Live long and prosper!
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Economists seem particularly keen on the two genres of science fiction and detective fiction
Mysteries and science fiction are the two most popular genres in general, so that doesn’t make economists any different. The only genre that compares is romance, whose unpopularity with economists can be easily explained by the fact that most of them are male.
Good point about the counterfactual. I think it’s economics-ness rather than female-ness that accounts for the lack of interest in romantic fiction. Although The Invisible Heart by Russ Roberts is an exception…