Robert Solow was an intellectual giant
His criticisms were energetic and witty, which could make them harder to take
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240106_FND000.jpg)
Ensconced in a lorry, hidden from the enemy by the brow of a hill, the young Robert Solow decoded the radio signals of Nazi platoons across Italy. “We were very, very good at it,” he said. The trick was to get close to the enemy but not too close: near enough to pick up their transmissions, but not so near as to risk capture.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Big little truths”
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