"Are you REALLY the guy that wrote that book on nonmarket valuation?"
Nameless graduate student, to me, at lunch today
Context: I was honored to give the keynote address to open the International Society of Forest Resource Economics Annual Meeting, this morning (Proof here because I know most of you don't believe I would be invited to do this--I was invited because it was on campus and I was wiling to do it for free). Because the audience was supposed to be* a mix of academics, industry-types, government officials, and graduate students, I decided to give the keynote blog-style (non-technical and UNscholarly). Filled with anecdotes, and cartoons, and jokes, I talked about Revisiting the Principles of Economics: Lessons from Environmental and Resource Economics.
I guess my approachable presentation style belies my academic credibility.
*Turned out to be an all academic audience. The one gov't rep in the room (Chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry) came up to me afterwards and said "Yours was that best presentation of the day...or at least it was the only one I sort of understood." At least I made one person happy.
