Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Picking Up the Twitter Throwdown

It has taken me three months, but I'm finally answering this call issued by Rob Katz:
@robertkatz: Twitter throwdown btween @auerswald & @bill_easterly was awesome. hope Phil + Bill will take up on blogs. 7:24 PM Oct 29th, 2009
Here's the Twitter exchange Rob was referring to.
Easterly: On Gates. When aid optimism vs pessimism becomes political not evidence based - am I guilty also? http://bit.ly/PvPTq (prev T'd)

Me: @bill_easterly Your "searchers" (who are they again?) may gauge effectiveness w/ randomized control trials. But no entrepreneur ever did.

Me: Been to a lot of events. Tonight's presentation by Bill & Melinda Gates was exceptionally powerful. @gatesfoundation http://bit.ly/mhZ2R

Easterly: I couldn't see the Gates webcast last nite b/c of technical problems. Anyone who saw it have any comments or reports?

Me:
@bill_easterly I was there also (ergo previous Tweets.). Gates Foundation is not the U.N. That's a good thing. Gates is an entrepreneur.

Me: @bill_easterly Bill Gates is an entrepreneur first, philanthropist second. @gatesfoundation

Me: @bill_easterly The totality of your narrative ultimately does not make sense because you do not understand entrepreneurship.

Easterly: Why do entrepreneurs like bad data? RT @auerswald: your narrative does not make sense because you do not understand entrepreneurship.

Me:
@bill_easterly Science doesn't prove, only disproves. Data & analysis not "good" or "bad," but rather better or worse depending on context.


Me: @bill_easterly RCTs are $$ & inherently limited in generalizabilily & by non-stationarity of distribs. Good in public health. Not much else.

Easterly: My blog is also cautious and critical of RCTs RT @auerswald RCTs are $$ & inherently limited in generalizabilily

Me:
@bill_easterly Entrepreneurship is inherently forward-looking. Retrospective confidence you call good data is, prospectively, just a guess.


Me: @bill_easterly You advocate a data aesthetic relevant only to public health & critique of aid relevant to everything but public health.

Easterly: Don't you need to know if it's working? RT @auerswald Entrepreneurship is forward-looking. Retrospective you call good data is a guess.

Me: In business, you know it's working when people buy what you're selling. RT @bill_easterly: Don't you need to know if it's working?

Easterly: We dont have that in aid, need to know outcomes RT @auerswald: In business, you know it's working when people buy what you're selling.

Me: Didn't you get the memo? Aid doesn't work. RT @bill_easterly: We don't have that in aid, need to know outcomes. http://bit.ly/1YKZnn

Easterly:
Let's continue our dialogue on blog or email RT @auerswald


Me:
@bill_easterly has worn me out. Unintended consequence from going to Living Proof event last night. @gatesfoundation http://bit.ly/mhZ2R

2 comments:

  1. Phil, great to see this in blog form. Are you and Bill going to take this up as a debate or discussion?

    If so, NextBillion would be glad to host or will at the very least try to drive traffic towards you.

    Thanks...where do we stand now?

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  2. Rob,

    Thanks for that invite. I'll give you a few posts to decide whether or not you think there is material for a hosted event at NextBillion. If you end up thinking that there is, I will, of course, show up.

    I posted my disclaimer (of sorts) today as well: "The Trouble With Bill (He's So Close to Great)."

    Phil

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