the 15-second sound bite on topics that directly affect people's lives (like the housing market) does not occur in fields like theoretical physics and math

But wouldn't it be awesome if they did?

"Coming up next, how vibrating strings in eleven dimensions could affect your morning commute..."

I wish we owned a house. The trouble is, I don't want to own a house in LA. I want a house in Truckee or Santa Fe or the Bay Area. Because those are places I'd like to be. It's a dilemma, I tell you.

Doesn't J Lo always have retouching done on her butt?

You know what's sort of fun in a I'm a Total Nerd Way? Reading A Christmas Carol aloud to 7th grade urban students. I so don't care if they get 20% of the words. It's so fun to read.

I would also like to note that the Duke lacrosse "scandal," which took place (or didn't according to your belief) two blocks from my house, was 3 of the top 4 "scandal" hits on Google this year. Oh, the joy.

One of the unfun side effects of the bubble is it's effect on driving rents up too. It's not just houses that become unaffordable but apartments too.

Right: also the various factors I mention produce a shortage of rental housing.

In terms of economists and fuzziness - we have really uncertain economic theory being used as justification for things that hurt the vast majority of people, like the Fed raising interest rates every time real wages show any sign of going up. Psychological theory is subject to the a degree of bitterness among a high percentage of the people who spend much time in mental institutions.

I think where economics differs as a field from the academic professions bon bon mentioned is that the 15-second sound bite on topics that directly affect people's lives (like the housing market) does not occur in fields like theoretical physics and math, and not much in psychology except Dr. Phil. I am sure many academic economists fully admit that much of their work is theoretical, but they don't get on TV much.

I tried to pick a broad range to demonstrate that all academic endeavor relies on uncertainty. If we're talking about sound bites, I'm pretty sure EVERY profession is misrepresented, that's why there are professionals in the first place. IMO economic illiteracy is a huge problem that really doesn't have anything to do with the state of the field or the activities of professional economists.

Oh, I have no doubt that the scandal happened. I've completely given up on sorting out the actual facts, otoh...

I have no real issues with the leggings craze that has come back.

What I do have an issue with, is that it has become nigh unpossible to find regular tights. I need regular tights. Opaque. With feet. In dark brown. How hard is that????

Aimee, Target has a house brand, the one that begins with an M, that has brown opaque tights. or at least they did a few weeks ago. And Macy's had some too, but those cost more.

but whenever I open a magazine I can usually point to exactly where photos have been retouched.

They're all retouched. Except maybe Halle Berry. Otherwise, it's fantasyland perfection.

As for the economists, my gut feeling is that economics, as a field of study, is similar to where psychology was before they had tools to measure things like neurotransmitters and brain activity. It's a bunch of competing theories which are - in essence - broad complex metaphors bolstered in part by data. (Which may be an apt description of any science, I suppose. But I'm not saying either/or but rather place on the spectrum from mostly theory to mostly scientific fact.) I don't think it has the rigor of something like aeronautic engineering. Everybody understands the principles involved in getting a plane in the air, and they can all build planes that fly. Not everybody can agree on the principles which make an economy function. Not yet anyway. Supply and demand, though? Still a useful concept!

I think I would say that compared to some others, economics is perhaps especially prone to having complexities reduced to soundbites with an eye to supporting particular agendas. But "fully understand" is a pretty high bar to set for any discipline.