Paul Krugman is an American professor who was awarded the 2008 Nobel prize in economic sciences for his analysis of trade patterns and location of economic activity. Outside the academic world he is known for his non-technical books and twice-weekly opinion columns in the New York Times.
While Krugman, who was born in 1953, generally emphasises the ordinariness of his upbringing in the New York suburbs, he tells one story that is the stuff of legend. In his early teens, he was a fan of the Foundation series, the science fiction trilogy by Isaac Asimov. In the story, a number of ‘psychohistorians’ use their understanding of the mathematics of society to save civilisation. This story made an impression on young Paul and his private fantasy was to become a psychohistorian.
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