Steven Kates writes, inter alia: What possible difference could it make to anyone whether income distribution in some measure that is invisible to everyone without a dataset and a computer happens to be more skewed in one direction today than it was at some moment in the past? Is he seriously suggesting that science should take no interest in anything not visible to the naked eye? Julian Wells Dr Julian Wells Principal Lecturer Economics Office: PR HH 0006 Phone: +44 (0)20 8417 2341 staff web-page: http://fass.kingston.ac.uk/staff/cv.php?staffnum=287 personal web-site: http://staffnet.kingston.ac.uk/~ku32530 Principal lecturer in economics School of Economics, History and Politics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Kingston University Penrhyn Road Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 2EE United Kingdom