Matt Yglesias

Bed, Bath, Beyond, and Iowa

Yesterday, we had occasion to discuss Matt Bai’s dim view of political science: “My dinnertime conversation with three Iowans may not add up to a reliable portrait of the national consensus, but it’s often more illuminating than the dissertations of academics whose idea of seeing America is a trip to the local Bed, Bath & Beyond.” That’s right, he doesn’t just think that the best reporting is more valuable than academic research, he thinks that unreliable reporting is more illuminating than a dissertation. Strange. Meanwhile, Andrew Gelman rightly wonders “Would it be ok if the local Bed, Bath & Beyond were in Iowa?”

Plenty of Bed, Bath & Beyonds in Iowa, including one in Iowa City not far from the University of Iowa and one in nearby Coralville, Iowa.

23 Responses to “Bed, Bath, Beyond, and Iowa”

1. Chris B Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 8:50 am

   Meanwhile, what about the 30% or more of Americans who either cannot afford to go to Bed Bath and Beyond or hate big box stores?

2. Marc Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 8:53 am

   Matt Bai seems to have confused academic dissertations with David Brooks columns.

   I hear Bed Bath & Beyond has a great salad bar.

3. notchris Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 8:59 am

   are you deliberately ignoring the ad absurdium reductum? or, is it just simply easier to prop up the strawman and then barely, just barely, be able to tip it over?

   don’t be so thin-skinned. a lot of academic poli-sci is rhinoceros shit – exotic, but shit nonetheless.

4. Marc Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:03 am

   are you deliberately ignoring the ad absurdium reductum?

   If you want to intimidate or impress us with Latin phrases, try getting them right.

5. Garuda Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:06 am

   In Maquoketa, all you’ve got is a Piggly Wiggly.

6. Why oh why Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:07 am

   Matt defeats the strawman.

7. Trevor J Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:15 am

   The one in Coralville is the same one near the University of Iowa. It just opened! We’re very excited. (No one is excited.)

8. md 20/400 Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:18 am

   Great tag: Matt Bait. Or was that a typo?

9. Edward, the mad shirt grinder Says:
   March 13th, 2009 at 9:30 am

   So Iowa City and the Hawkeyes have a B,B and B but Ames and the Cyclones do not? Something is very, very wrong.

10. roac Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am

    For some reason that so far defies analysis, I think the plural of “Bed, Bath & Beyond” ought to be “Beds, Baths, & Beyond.”

11. mk Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 9:32 am

    Matt B’s point is clearly that hands-on anecdotal reporting can “often” be better than shitty academic writing.

    Sounds like a reasonable hypothesis to me; not sure if it’s true. But Matt Y is clearly creating a straw man in his response.

12. El Cid Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 9:38 am

    If you venture over to Gelman’s, here’s an important paragraph:

    I can imagine a Baudrillard-style social critic trying to learn about America by walking around the local mall, but if you really want to criticize political scientists, woudn’t [sic] it make more sense by doing it in the other direction, hammering us for being dry academics obsessed with fancy-pants regression models and p-values and not looking at what’s really happening out there?

13. MF in KS Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 10:03 am

    I LOVE Bed, Bath, and Beyond; I got some really nice drinking glasses there.

14. Viceroy Matt Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 10:25 am

    Chris B, who “cannot afford to go to Bed Bath and Beyond?”

    I received their flyer in the mail this week. They are selling a turkey-sized roasting pan for $20. After the rebate, that comes down to $10.

    Then there’s a $5 coupon in the flyer, so. . . .

15. veronica Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 10:52 am

    As an Iowa City resident, just wanted to clarify that the two nearby BB&Bs are in the adjacent town of Coralville and in Cedar Rapids (a good half hour drive). There are no BB&Bs in Iowa City itself. Iowa City does, however, have more bars per square mile than probably anywhere in America.

16. SLC Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 3:19 pm

    At least one can say the BB and B outlasted Linens and Things.

17. The Navigator Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    SLC, when will you stop lording your elitist consumerism over people who cannot afford to shop at Linens ‘n Things? Is there no end to the smug mockery by the Iowa-based heartland elites who think they can tell the Real Americans on the coasts where to shop for turkey-sized roasting pans?

    For my part, I’m only here to celebrate the fact that one can form a reliable portrait of the national consensus in London, Paris, and Iowa City. Adieu.

18. rea Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    And pool halls. Lots of pool halls.

    Well, either you’re closing your eyes
    To a situation you do now wish to acknowledge
    Or you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
    By the presence of a pool table in your community.
    Ya got trouble, my friend, right here,
    I say, trouble right here in Iowa City
    Trouble with a capital “T”
    And that rhymes with “P” and that stands for pool!

19. Campesino Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    Edward, the mad shirt grinder Says:
    March 13th, 2009 at 9:30 am
    So Iowa City and the Hawkeyes have a B,B and B but Ames and the Cyclones do not? Something is very, very wrong.

    ===========================================================

    So is this a statement by BB&B management about the superiority of the Big 10 to the Big 12?

20. Ex Girlfiend Says:
    April 10th, 2009 at 3:23 am

    The style of writing is very familiar . Did you write guest posts for other blogs?

21. ethinfelt Says:
    April 10th, 2009 at 7:01 am

    FANTASTIC!