Tim Harford certainly belaboured the point that safety systems may make things more prone to failure, what with the Oscars fiasco (two systems bad; three systems worse). Wheeling out Galileo was a masterstroke. Little could he have anticipated that someone who actually knew about statics would be listening..

Dr. Drang kindly shared his expertise.

I think we can forgive Galileo this lapse. He was creating new knowledge and, given his trouble with the Vatican, was desperate to get it published. Editing was of secondary concern at best.

I’m less forgiving of Tim Harford. Anyone who’s taken a statics class could have told him that the story on which he was basing “Galileo’s Principle” didn’t demonstrate that principle.

I wonder whether Tim Harford will even see that. Probably not; comments are closed.

Fascinating stuff. I remember reading The Dice Man, and wondering, briefly, whether I would do something like that. Then I moved on.

Maybe they'll start to take communications professionals seriously ...

I wonder whether I'd have any of the same reactions if I re-read it, 20 years on?

One starting point is the old proverb, “Don’t wrestle with a pig. You get dirty and the pig enjoys it.” There’s truth in that. We just need to find a version that doesn’t dismiss our opponents as pigs.

And there's the rub, really. You have to get over thinking of them as pigs.