The To-Be-Expected Angst Created for Economists by Mathematics

Historical evidence on how scholars have reacted to an enhanced role of mathematics in economics agrees with plausible theories about how people can be expected to react. Therefore, we should not be surprised to encounter quotations by Nobel Laureates and other eminent scholars that express criticisms of an overuse of mathematics. Such evidence has negligible power to test whether too little or too much of mathematics is employed during each period of scholarly history.