I never had a better teacher than David Lazyer. He is a cosmologist and taught a seminar I took in college, "Chance, Necessity and Order," about three decades ago.
Humane, brilliant, and generous with his time and spirit. What more do you want? It is all in this profile, which is from a 1991 newspaper article. It is completely accurate and true to my recollections (including his taking walks with undergrads, like me, who did not know how to dress for the cold). I took the course my freshman year, and I was one of his course assistants when he offered it again in my junior year.
I actually started to write this post about banking regulation, and the idea that simple regulation is better than complex. Simplicity being a hallmark of truth is an idea I first heard from Prof. Layzer. He attributed it to Einstein, and maybe to earlier thinkers as well.
I cannot bring myself to making Professor Layzer a mere footnote in a piece about banking! That would be awful. He deserves his own post, and much more. I will make my point about banking regulation in an upcoming post.
