Wikipedia Gets It Right
US News and World Report ranks the College of William&Mary 31st among National Universities. W&M is ranked higher than Penn State, Ohio State, New York University, Case Western Reserve, and the University of Rochester. In sum, it’s a good school.
Much can be learned about this school at Wikipedia. In addition to reporting information on the history of the institution, student life, and athletics, Wikipedia also reports the notable professors employed at W&M. On this list is Martin Schmidt, co-author of The Wages of Wins. In sum, according to Wikipedia, Marty is one of the top professors at one of the top schools in the country. Given Marty's status, does this make The Wages of Wins one of the top books?
Now fans of the Freakonomics blog might have noticed that Stephen Dubner does not think too highly of Wikipedia. Apparently Dubner thinks Wikipedia has a problem with accuracy. Well, clearly its ability to rank quality faculty members cannot be questioned. So there’s one for Wikipedia.
Are the other co-authors of The Wages of Wins receiving similar honors? The entry for the University of Sioux Falls does not report any notable professors. Surely this is just a case of missing information, since Stacey Brook is clearly the best economist that school employs.
As for my school, California State University – Bakersfield, there is also no report of notable professors. Again, I am sure this is something that will be corrected in the future. I think I have a good chance of making such a list. After all, I know for a fact I am one of the top five faculty members in my department. And that has to be worth noting someplace.
Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, if you check out USF you will see that Stacey is the only economist employed at that school. That still means he must be the best, though.
And one should also note that I only have three other faculty members in my department. Plus, my colleagues would probably only agree that I am clearly one of the top ten professors in our department. Still, top ten is not too bad.
- DJ