A Real Economist

No wonder Arnold Kling (EconLog) is such a good economist. He has experienced reality and he understands it:

One of the issues with which I struggle in teaching my [George Mason University] course is integrating my business experience with my academic learning. For example, take the topic of "profit maximization." In academic economics, it means solving a mathematical optimization problem. In business, you don't have the equation to work with. You're guessing about what will sell, to whom you can sell it, and how much it might sell for. You're guessing about how you can get technology to fit together, and how new developments could affect you.

P.S. Check out Kling's take on Paul Samuelson, whose never strong grasp of reality seems to have slipped away.