It tells me nothing. Finding mistakes is always easier than writing the book containing them.
And the list of those supposed mistakes is public[1], behind only a registration wall. Piketty either made them, or not. They either substantially change the results, or not. You don't need to make guesses based on timing.
Perhaps Chris Giles is motivated by pleasing his "wealthy businessmen" audience. Perhaps he spent sleepless nights pouring over the text to find something, anything. Maybe he even cheats on his wife.
I get the whole dismissal of the ad hominem-based conclusions thing, and you have a point.
OTOH, it is equally fallacious to suggest that Giles' cheating on his wife is as irrelevant as his ideology or that of his employers.
At this point, we don't know who has it right. But, it is not unwise to look suspiciously upon a person's ideology and/or leanings when approaching their work. This is especially so in today's world of corporate-owned media.
And the list of those supposed mistakes is public[1], behind only a registration wall. Piketty either made them, or not. They either substantially change the results, or not. You don't need to make guesses based on timing.
Perhaps Chris Giles is motivated by pleasing his "wealthy businessmen" audience. Perhaps he spent sleepless nights pouring over the text to find something, anything. Maybe he even cheats on his wife.
But so what?
[1] http://blogs.ft.com/money-supply/2014/05/23/data-problems-wi...