MIT economist jokes his AI Fermi-estimation demos pale next to physics colleagues' work
RexDouglass · x · 2026-10-30
MIT economist John Horton shared a self-deprecating joke about hearing an MIT physics colleague's amazing AI work and only being able to describe his own as "oh, this and that."
The attached screenshot shows his agent's session assessment: it completed a Fermi estimation of US whole-turkey sales in 2045, merging demand-driven and supply-driven strategies for a provisional estimate of 59M (80% CI 41-89M). A genuine showcase of structured agent workflows wrapped in an academic in-joke.
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