My friend and Berkeley grad school classmate Gary Charness posted this on Facebook:
It has finally happened. This could be a world record. I now have 63 published and accepted papers at the age of 63. I doubt that there is anyone who *first* matched their (positive) age at a higher age. Not bad given that my first accepted paper was in 1999. I am very pleased !!
Note that Gary is setting a very strict test here. Draw a graph with age on the horizontal axis and publications on the vertical. Take any economist and plot publications by age. It’s already a major accomplishment for this plot to cross the 45 degree line at some point. Its yet another for it to still be above the 45 degree line at age 63. But its absolutely astounding that Gary’s plot first crossed the 45 degree line at age 63.
(Yes Gary was my classmate at Berkeley when I was 20-something and he was 40-something.)
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October 17, 2013 at 6:54 am
Ryan
Just curious – what did he do before returning to school for his PhD?
October 17, 2013 at 8:25 am
Anonymous
I am sure Fishburn would have touched before this and stayed above the 45 degree line even today.
October 17, 2013 at 8:37 am
Joshua Gans
Um. I find the record odd. So I am above the 45 degree line now and I think I have been there for a good decade. I’ll also be above it at 63 so long as I don’t drop dead before then.
So the record is to cross it at 63. Given the 20 year start, this is equivalent to you crossing it in your 40s which doesn’t seem that surprising a thing.
What am I missing?
October 17, 2013 at 9:10 am
jeff
i dont believe in your suggested stationarity. the years 43-63 are not the same as the years 28-48
October 21, 2013 at 6:45 am
Joshua Gans
Fair enough.
October 17, 2013 at 3:20 pm
David Schwarm
Last night Cody set the record for Most Candy Corn in your mouth–18 pieces. When I argued that no 5 year old could shove eighteen pieces of Candy Corn in his mouth at once he attempted to recreate the achievement, but unfortunately started laughing so hard that he vomited the Bhutan Flag all over the kitchen floor.
October 17, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Anonymous
And you also had the same advisor…
October 18, 2013 at 1:08 pm
enrique
The real question is, How good were any of the 63 papers?
October 19, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Evan
Enrique, in answer to the question that you intended to ask: yes, many of his papers are very good.