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Ben Stein's Diary
Sunrise at Sandpoint
A vacation interrupted by very sad news about a great economist, Dr. Anna Schwartz.
(Page 2 of 3)
Really? Then where do the laws of physics come from? Where does the first cell come from? Where do the laws of thermodynamics come from? Physical laws ? By chance? That’s rich. Life, actual life, by chance? How can anyone believe that?
However, I could be wrong about all of this. I am often wrong. That’s what it means to be human. But the neo-Darwinists can never be wrong. That’s what The Party says. Well, I am sure some of the people who were exercised about Expelled were fine people. Maybe they were all fine people. You are just not allowed to disagree with them. That’s Thoughtcrime.
Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime is death. So says The Party. Thank you, George Orwell.
Then home to a melancholy e-mail from my pal Phil DeMuth. My mother’s best friend from Barnard College days and for the rest of her life, Anna Jacobson Schwartz, has entered immortality at 96.
Dr. Schwartz was a genius statistician and economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She co-authored as important a book on economics as there has ever been, since The Wealth of Nations, A Monetary History of The United States with Milton Friedman, a supernova genius (like her). I cannot believe I read it all, but I did, when I was 19 years old. It was so beyond me that it might as well have been in Greek. I did learn a lot from it, though. I guess.
But I knew her well because she was my mother’s roommate and best friend. She hosted me for many Sabbath meals when I was a lonely student at Columbia. That was long ago.
She was always good hearted and generous as I whined about missing my girlfriend, Cathy F. I may add that Milton Friedman at this time was a visiting Professor at Columbia and said to me the ultimate brilliance that saved me from despair about her. “If there were only one right woman for every right man on earth, they would never find each other,” he said.
(I happen to believe that he was wrong here but I hesitate to challenge Friedman about anything.)
Many, many nights I was saved from lonely sorrow by the kind attention of Dr. Schwartz and her husband Isaac and their brilliant, lovely children. Brisket in their apartment on West End Avenue. Brisket, economics, and love.
I can still recall her, as a woman in her '80s, running to get to my mother’s funeral in 1997. They both graduated from Barnard at 18.
Really, the kindest of the kind.
I called her during the Crash of 2008 and asked what was going on. “The banks are terrified about insolvency, not liquidity,” she said, in a spectacular summation of the problem.
We citizens of America and of the world will miss her. I leave to others ultimately to judge her brilliance as an economist (in my book, peerless).
But as a kind woman, a caring soul, without doubt as good as they get.
God bless her family and the souls of Isaac and her and her wonderful, super smart children.
About the Author
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (33) | Leave a comment
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QuietPro| 6.25.12 @ 7:42AM
Refreshing to see that your religious superstition still shines through in the face of fact, Mr. Stein.....
Pecos Pete| 6.25.12 @ 7:54AM
QP: "religious superstition" ... ?????????? How could evolution cause beautiful sunrises and sunsets? Or planets, moons, suns, etc.? Or, as Mr. Stein says, "Then where do the laws of physics come from?"
AhiaBoy| 6.25.12 @ 9:27AM
It takes a greater leap of faith to believe evolution than it does to believe in a creator, QP.
If I told you I found my wristwatch perfectly formed in some layers of rock, you would think me laughably mad, but you can believe the massive complexity of the universe and the natural laws that govern it somehow all just happened.
Amazing what some people can convince themselves of...
EastTexasRancher| 6.25.12 @ 8:48AM
What is so delightful about you, Ben Stein, is your appreciation for ordinary days, finding them not so ordinary, and utter and genuine kindness. We need many more of your kind in this old world.
I think each of us need to appreciate our blessings. So, as I go to my flower garden to cut the beautiful flowers, which I will leave at friends' houses to bless their day, I salute you from my ranch in Texas, Mr. Stein.
May we all see the goodness of life, give genuine appreciation for the kindness of others, and thank God for His grace.
B. Gunn
E. Tex. Rancher
KyMouse| 6.25.12 @ 10:29AM
"Thoughtcrime does not entail death. Thoughtcrime is death. So says The Party. Thank you, George Orwell."
I hope Ben means, "Thank you for pointing out the dangers of totalitarian government, George Orwell."
Orwell was not advocating the things he wrote about in "1984."
C. Vernon Crisler | 6.25.12 @ 12:01PM
Yes, but unfortunately he was still a socialist.
Bob From District 9| 6.25.12 @ 10:03PM
IOW, a good Christian.
beniyyar| 6.25.12 @ 12:27PM
I find far more comfort and logic in God creating the universe and all of it's creatures, including man, than in some entirely cold and utterly irrational "Big Bang" just happening.
Toolman1| 6.25.12 @ 12:29PM
Thank you from a Texan "summering" in Boston. Your columns always cheer me up after I have become down after seeing so many Toyoto Pirisus with Obama bumper stickers attached. BTW what did music evolve from?
Tom Kyba| 6.25.12 @ 1:14PM
For the love of Christ, would someone arguing for creation science(forget the pretentious intelligent design re-designation) please stop citing the silly "find a watch argument". The analogy is grossly oversimplified. You reject evolution based on your faith. That's fine. But the attempts at scientific proof of the falsity of the theory always amount to stating negatives. (Evolution can't explain this or that facet of existence).
Evolutionists cannot prove that God does not exist. Mistakes and all, they are trying to explain the universe using the intellectual tools that have been provided to us by, if you prefer, God.
Trying to explain the life of a planet billions of years old and a universe billions of years older, is obviously going to entail a lot of guesswork. Since you have brought this argument into the scientific arena, I'm afraid it's incumbent on you to provide positive proof of God's existence. Since you can't, for the trillionth time this argument reverts back to its start.
hpcooperjon| 6.25.12 @ 1:30PM
Scientific proof of God's existence is not available. It is a matter of faith as the scripture says "without faith, it is impossible to please God". You will not understand it until you have taken your last breath and of course, then it will be too late. I'm not hostile to your argument but sympathetic to your plight. God bless you, sir.
Bob From District 9| 6.25.12 @ 10:34PM
What plight of his are you sympathetic to? Putting up with the simple minds who deny evolution? Not one thing he said denies the existence of god.
By the reckoning of the creationists the bible story got it's start about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, according to who's doing the calculating. The Gospels go back 2,000 years.
The development of evolution started with the publication of "The Origin of Species", about 150 years ago.
To explain the 15 billion years of evolution in 150 years would require that you tell the story of approximately 3.17 years every second for 150 years. Now, tell us all that you did for the last year, you have one second. Ok, just tell us the highlights.
Times up!
Aren't you glad I didn't limit you to 1/3rd second you want to give the evolutionists?
Now, how much of the history of Christianity do we really know? And that's only 2,000 years.
hpcooperjon| 6.25.12 @ 1:25PM
Enjoyed the article but baffled by your last statement, --------buffets trains? Would someone explain that to me? Thanks.
David T| 6.25.12 @ 1:51PM
Warren Buffet has invested heavily in railroad stocks.
joe s| 6.25.12 @ 2:08PM
thanks for the explanation; it flew right by me. i was thinking Jimmy Buffet and cheeseburgers...didn't make sense. now it is an excellent ending to an excellent piece.
Interested Conservative| 6.25.12 @ 3:24PM
Buffett essentially owns the BNSF, one of whose mainlines runs through northern Idaho. It basically makes him the ultimate rail baron, surpassing even those of the 18th century. But he has much better PR.
sscott| 6.25.12 @ 1:33PM
Thank you Ben Stein for another uplifting journal of your life. I don't always agree with you but truly appreciate you opinions. Please don't stop writing them. Thank You!
C. Vernon Crisler | 6.25.12 @ 2:10PM
Why is the burden on theists? Why not on evolutionists? From what I've seen, there is no evidence that macro-evolution has ever happened--none that can stand up to scrutiny. To believe in evolution is to sacrifice one's intellect.
C. Vernon Crisler | 6.25.12 @ 3:14PM
This comment was directed toward Tom.
Bob From District 9| 6.25.12 @ 10:36PM
Why is the burden on Evolutionists? Why not on Creationists? From what I have seen there is no justification for teaching a religious belief in public schools at public expense. None that can stand up to scrutiny.
To disbelieve evolution is to sacrifice one's intellect.
justmom| 7.2.12 @ 3:09PM
And you, of course, are brilliant!
fdcampbell| 6.25.12 @ 2:44PM
Every time I read you, the day brightens a little.
funu50401| 6.25.12 @ 3:26PM
You leave no doubt . . . you are a fine human being. With extra added features--you are a stich.
Dinah| 6.25.12 @ 5:25PM
Try a DDbar (deedeebar) at Dairy Depot. You'll thank me. Carmel or chocolate, your choice. I had my first one at a recent Woman of Wisdom luncheon.
Dennis| 6.25.12 @ 5:37PM
I know you don't read these, but that's ok, you are busy. I look forward so much to your diary and love your love for your pets. Thank you Ben, you really are an inspiration for the best things in life. Dennis, Fayetteville, AR
Intelligent Design| 6.25.12 @ 6:08PM
For those who would really like to exercise their brains about intelligent design, read Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer. Great book!
Bob From District 9| 6.25.12 @ 6:58PM
"Many Christians came up to me to thank me for Expelled. That is the movie I worked on asking why there could not at least be discussion of "intelligent design," the possibility that life was designed by an intelligent designer, not by accident and random happenings. I little dreamed so many people would see that movie, but they sure did. Sincere, kindly people. Not like some of the thugs who hated it, the bullies and Thought Police who simply will not permit any thoughts except what The Party says to say, that there could be no God and that only random chance determines everything."
All I had to do was read to this point to know what a lying fraud you are. There is nothing stopping you from having all the discussions of "intelligent design" you want. Just don't spend government money on it.
Don't even try to blame people who say there is no God. The overwhelming majority of Christians in this world are members of faiths that accept the truth of evolution. The only ones who push semi"intelligent design" are fundies who won't accept any proposition other than their own.
When you can find some fundies who will accept a discussion of Thetan spirits living in Earth's vocanoes, or the god Elohim living near Kolob who created the Earth, or the Gaia theory, then you may have a point. Until then, keep it out of our public schools.
That is exactly what the 1st Amendment demands.
Troon62| 6.25.12 @ 7:06PM
A lovely account of your time at Sandpoint. I was especially touched by your memories of your family time with Anna Schwartz. When I read her last interview with the WSJ, I was stunned by her clarity and wisdom. We should all be so lucky.
Bob From District 9| 6.25.12 @ 10:02PM
"Really? Then where do the laws of physics come from? Where does the first cell come from? Where do the laws of thermodynamics come from? Physical laws ? By chance? That’s rich. "
From the same place God comes from.
"Life, actual life, by chance? How can anyone believe that?"
The same way anyone can believe in God. Oh, and I am a Catholic who believes in God, and evolution.
"However, I could be wrong about all of this. I am often wrong. That’s what it means to be human. "
Yes, you are wrong often, including this time. You are also dishonest often, including this time.
"But the neo-Darwinists can never be wrong."
Since "neo-Darwinists" were something like a century ago, they are probably all dead now. OTOH, those who believe in evolution are still quite common, despite the attempts by the fundies to destroy them.
You are just not allowed to disagree with them. That's Thoughtcrime.
Believing in evolution is the thought crime.
AhiaBoy| 6.26.12 @ 5:06AM
"The analogy is grossly oversimplified."
Isn't the belief that the entire universe just happened of its own accord grossly oversimplified?
Mick41| 6.26.12 @ 11:28AM
Ben: Nice piece. Your comments about the movie "Expelled" and the "Thought Police's" attitude toward Intelligent Design, is a reminder that it is to be expected. The "elephant in the livingroom" is that they never broach the subject of "Why" the universe is there..... what is the purpose of it? They can only flail around attempting to explain the processes of how it works, and a pathetic attempt to explain how it got here... but never why. Their prescious "Scientic Method" is way too limiting and crude to include non-material reality.
Sam | 6.30.12 @ 9:50PM
Mr. Stein, you are a rare, true hero and I admire you so much. My Dad and I have been your fans since Ferris Bueller. I love the movie Expelled, which you were so brilliant and brave to write. Carry on! God bless you, sir.
DidITweetThat| 8.4.12 @ 4:31PM
"aTen million Internet connections cannot take its place. There are friendly, smiling people at the post office behind the counters and in line."
And you call your self a conservative... don't you know the Post Office is a socialist conspiracy to deny big business a chance to make an extra buck.
SHAME ON YOU MR. STEIN. Get in the goose
step line behind your fellow Tea Party conservatives.