Let’s pretend you did some research and wrote a paper that got published. Say also that predicted a stunning shortfall of an expensively and highly educated population of employees. The paper was received well and embraced by most everyone. It became a driver for change.

A mere two or three years later you realized you were wrong. Badly wrong.

Shouldn’t you have told someone?

Read this story about the forecast shortfall of faculty jobs in the humanities. And then read anything by Rebecca Schumann here or at Slate.

I hope that I would have the courage and wherewithal to retract my original work early on. And the apologize. Profusely.