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