Re: OT: Thomas Sowell on Work Ethic

On 12/6/2024 9:20 PM, DeepBlue wrote:

Thomas Sowell about Work Ethic:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhXLaWI4M_w
 Enjoy

   I suppose there could be Sowell's words (I listened once and didn't notice anything that he couldn't have said, except maybe one, see below).  Obviously that's not his voice. The page claims their postings are "inspired" by Sowell's writings, so there is the possibility of distortion or error.  It seems weird to me that the identity of these folks is hidden.owell left UCLA in 1980.  Obviously, he could not have seen students at their laptops at that time.  So unless he taught there later, perhaps as a visitor, this is bogus.
I was a graduate student in economics at UCLA during Sowell's first teaching job there from 1970-72.  I don't recall taking any classes with him.  I'm sure I had no idea the giant he would become in the economics profession.  My loss, for sure.
My only encounter with him was not a good one.  I was a TA and Sowell needed a grader for an exam he had given.  I don't recall how I came about to be selected, but I was.  I was supposed to have the graded exams back to him Friday afternoon, but in typical fashion, procrastinated and realized I could only finish them by pulling an all-nighter.  Instead, I called him up, made some excuse, and asked if I could deliver the exams on Monday morning.  He agreed.  I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not.  Anyway, Monday morning when I arrived at my office, some of the other graduate students told me that Sowell was looking for me and was pissed. Scared nearly to death, I went up to his office and gave him the exams.  He started yelling about trust and responsibilty, etc. and really ripped me a new one.  When I asked him if he remembered giving me the extension to Monday, he quietly said, "Oh, I forgot. Sorry." That was the end of my association with Professor Sowell, except he left a written note in my mailbox, saying I did a good job grading the exams.