Permalink Submitted by Stacy Kosko (not verified) on Tue, 12/13/2016 - 3:57pm
It is not often that we are priviledged enough to be able to say "I have many fond memories" of someone as great as Tom Schelling. And yet.... I do. I remember his sweet humor making fun of David Crocker when he spilled his drink on Tom's shoes at a party and proceeded to try to wipe it off with napkins. I also remember Tom's hosting a pizza and movie night at the School, where we watched Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Kubrick had brought Tom on, formally, as a consultant on the script because he wanted a realistic plotline, grounded in game theory, for how a nuclear war might actually get started. We watched, then discussed. A film major in undergrad, I never thought I'd be learning about Kubrick's approach to filmmaking from a Nobel laureate in economics. But there you have it. Describing those surprises--and others like the news just a couple years ago that he went to Antarctica because, you know, why not do that in your 90s?--is the best way I can explain the kind of person Tom Schelling was: humorous, adventurous, kind, collaborative, and just plain fun. He will be sorely missed. I, and we, are so priviledged to have known, laughed with, and learned from him.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Tom