Numerous sources have confirmed that Harvard Economics Professor N. Gregory Mankiw was seen giving a lecture last Friday in Economics 10, the class he allegedly teaches. Professor Mankiw was last seen lecturing during Shopping Period, a week designed to give students an idea of what classes are like.
Many students in the class expressed shock at discovering the word "Lecture" in the syllabus under the heading for Friday's date. Said Harvard freshman Jeremy McNeil, "We knew it must have been some cataclysmic, once-in-a-semester-type event for them to call us all together. And it was: Mankiw lectured!"
The lecture covered a wide array of topics, ranging from Mankiw's latest New York Times editorial to his decision to purchase an "Ec 10" vanity license plate. He also covered material the students had learned two months previously in section. To the students, Mankiw said in his lecture, his second and last of the semester, "I am so excited to teach you this year, and yet, at the same time, sad to see that our time together is coming to an end."
According to his assistant, Professor Mankiw maintains a very busy schedule. Approximately half of his day is spent searching his textbook Principles of Economics, 5th Edition for typos, the discovery of which would require the publication of a sixth edition. Rumors are also circulating that he is writing a comedy about his own life, one that he hopes to someday turn into a musical: "How to Be a Harvard Professor Without Really Trying."
