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Alfred Marshall

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In a letter to his protégée, A.C. Pigou, he laid out the following system: "(1) Use mathematics as shorthand language, rather than as an engine of inquiry. (2) Keep to them till you have done. (3) Translate into English. (4) Then illustrate by examples that are important in real life (5) Burn the mathematics. (6) If you can’t succeed in 4, burn 3. This I do often."


Here is more. While I can think of cases where the old master's advice applies, I disagree with everything other than 3 (and 4 in some cases).

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Review topics and articles of economics © 2011 Alfred Marshall