>Hmm, Stiglitz's actions there seem more illustrative of
>hoity-toityness than absent-mindedness. If he'd merely been
>absent-minded, he would have taken the subway and wound up at Far
>Rockaway or somesuch. His reflexive preference for a cab seems
>similar to that of many Manhattanites who would never mix it up with
>the mob down in that grotty subway, even if the subway gets you
>where you want to go a lot faster.
He's a very decent, likeable, modest, friendly guy - not at all hoity-toity. We took the subway uptown together, and he didn't cringe at the press of humanity - though he did have a bit of a struggle buying a token (putting together the right number of coins seemed to tax his capacity for dealing with the world of things).
Doug