* Steve Witham <sw@tiac.net> [Feb 04. 2010 10:24]:
[...]
For instance people who want to manage economies with feedback systems, without really getting that economies already are multilayered feedback systems attempting to "route around damage" as the saying goes.
[...]
A little horror story fits here: After I finished my Diplom (physics, analysis of certain chaotic systems) I got the offer for an approx 4 week job (very nicely paid). Offer was from a "scientist" in economy. <not_kidding_here> Task: Find all papers that have [plots of] solutions of all [sic] nonlinear differential equations, so I [economist] can compare [visually] to plots of economic data thereby identifying [oh, yes] underlying dynamics [and publish lotsa cool papers]. </not_kidding_here> Gave that guy a 60 minutes explanation that this is wrong, doomed, junk-science, insane, *OMG*; neatly detailing why. Only question he had then was: "Do you know someone else who'd do this for me?" Guy had a Doctor [economy] from a German uni (he may have been a professor, I do not recall).