Robert Nisbet once told this story to a group of grad students. I do not recall if the story was first hand or second hand.
A professor was sitting at a table in the student center. Around him were graduate students, hanging on his every word. At another table, a colleague remarked: "There is a fake giant surrounded by real pygmies."
I wish I had said that.
In every field, there are giants and pygmies. Most giants are fake. All pygmies are pygmies.
If you want to make an impression in any field, you must first identify the real giants and the fake ones. Associate yourself with the real ones. When you get a chance, expose the fakes.
In the field of economics, Paul Krugman is a fake giant. He is fair game. It never hurts to take a shot at Paul Krugman. Take two.
Thomas Sowell is a real giant. Learn what you can, and don't dismiss the rest. If you challenge him, do so where he is weak, such as foreign policy. Leave him alone on the economics of national groups.
My first book was on Karl Marx. He was a fake giant. I made a mistake. I was somewhat more respectful than I should have been. I was merciless, but not contemptuous. Big mistake. Murray Rothbard would never have made that mistake.
Marx was surrounded by an army of real pygmies. He had his acolytes. But a few of them were giants. In the field of history, Christoper Hill was a master of English Puritanism. He kept his Marxism well in the background. It would have been unwise to treat him as a pygmy.
Lesson: you must recognize the intellectual status of your target. Do not confuse fake with real.
A STRATEGY FOR OUTSIDERS
If you are an outsider, you must do double service. You must be better than the common man in the ranks. You must be better than those one rank above you. Two would be better. You must also abide by forms. You must eventually break the unofficial rules. You can organize a revolution within the firm. But if you wish to persuade those inside the ranks, you must abide by forms.
Sometimes, it is better to break ranks. Be a true outsider. Do an end run around the ranks. Run a guerilla campaign from outside. But if you are determined to change the minds of existing lieutenants, and run a long-term campaign to see your disciples advance into high positions, then abide by the forms.
In keeping with the military analogy, let me identify a serious player: Col. Billy Mitchell, U.S. Army Air Corps.
The popular Colonel Mitchell was facing a court-martial for his controversial remarks to the press on September 5 [1925], blasting two military disasters: a bungled flight during which three Navy seaplanes failed to make it from the West Coast to Hawaii; and the crash of the Navy airship USS Shenandoah while flying over the Midwest on an ill-advised public relations tour. "These incidents are the direct result of the incompetency, criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of the national defense by the Navy and War Departments," Mitchell stated. "The bodies of my former companions in the air moulder under the soil in America, and Asia, Europe and Africa, many, yes a great many, sent there directly by official stupidity."
He was convicted by the Army. He was removed from command.
Fifteen years later, the Army Air Corps named the B-25 bomber "the Mitchell." He broke ranks. He lost his case, but won the battle. He was an insider who was kicked out.
My view is that it is best to operate from the outside from day one. If you do, you need not abide by the rules. Make up your own rules. But be sure they will guide you in your efforts.
A CASE STUDY
Gunnar Thompson is a scholar who believes that there was a remarkable degree of seamanship in the pre-Columbus world -- indeed, before the Greeks and the Romans. He has devoted years to studying this.
He got a B.A. in anthropology. But when his department found out he believed in pre-Columbus voyages to North America long before the medieval world, they gave him a terminal M.A. and sent him on his way. He later earned a Ph.D. in an unrelated field. He has continued to write. He has zero influence inside academia. He is unknown. But he has a following in what the academic community dismisses as "cult anthropology."
He has written a book, American Discovery. It is in its third edition (2012). That's pretty good. The problem is, he is still playing the academic game. This is a strategic mistake.
His book has footnotes. But the footnotes take the reader to the end of a 400-page book. There, we find the worst typesetting job in academic history. The footnotes are in 3-point type. They are jammed together: almost no space between the lines. The book is printed on cheap paper, so the ink blurs. There is not one footnote that anyone can read.
The book's overall type face is at least a point too small. It is hard to read.
So, it's an imitation academic book. It is visibly an incompetent printing job. I say this as a former book publisher, one who typeset the books.
What should he have done?
First, the book should be online as a series of short articles. Every chapter should be separate. Every subsection should be one page.
Second, the footnotes should be on a separate page. Each footnote should be a live link. Click it, and you are taken to a page with the numbers. This way, the book can be upgraded at any time. Just add more footnotes.
Third, the illustrations and charts should be visible as small thumbnails on a page. Click it, and you are taken to a full-page image. Underneath each image is the explanation, if required, including references and live links.
Fourth, at the bottom of each page is a BACK arrow and a NEXT arrow. This takes the reader through the book.
Fifth, wherever appropriate, the author embeds a YouTube video. He explains a map or a ship's design. Rule: a screencast narration with a cursor is worth three pages of an incoherent written explanation.
Sixth, there is an order blank at the bottom of each page. This takes the reader to a sales page: a $4.95 PDF and a $25 print-on-demand copy.
Thompson is playing a futile academic game. "Look! I have written a book!" Academia doesn't notice. His followers cannot read his footnotes.
CONCLUSIONS
If you are just getting started, confine your refutations to deceased giants, preferably fake ones who still have followers. Marx is now visibly defunct; save your time. Freud is still vulnerable. So is Jung. Keynes would be ideal. (See my Keynes project.)
Do not go after Kant until you are older. Same with Darwin.
Attack any of the pygmies. But if you beat one up, will anyone notice -- other than the pygmy? Will it matter?
Better to master the works of a real giant. The payoff is higher.
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