Sobre alunos que adoram se esconder em sua timidez para sempre…

I got a few chances to see him in action. After observing one class, when I was visiting at George Mason in the 1980s, I heard a student talking excitedly to a group of faculty in the hallway. “Dr. Tullock is mean to all the other students, but he’s always nice to me. He doesn’t correct me or ask me questions.” I stared at the others,and they all shook their heads: “No! You’re doomed! If he’s nice to you, he thinks you aren’t worth fighting with. You have to go back and challenge him!” Within two weeks, the student reported back that Gordon was now insulting and berating her on a regular basis. Disaster averted.

Em contraposição, lembro-me sempre de um aluno – vamos chamá-lo de “Lucas” para preservar sua identidade verdadeira – cujas piadas chamavam a atenção da turma pela sua clara identificação com o humor dos economistas. Curiosamente, ele migraria para a Matemática no mestrado…