The Logic of Lies

Gavin Kennedy asks why Tim Harford, in his new book Logic of Life, accuses Adam Smith of lying about having visited a pin factory. In a famous passage of the Wealth of Nations, Smith stated:

I have seen a small manufactory of this kind where ten men only were employed, and where some of them consequently performed two or three distinct operations

Harford claims that Smith never actually saw the manufactory, but merely consulted an encyclopedia. Kennedy wonders how Harford can feel justified in such a claim, when he offers no evidence to that end.

I was already having difficulty getting this book in...with frivolous scholarship like this, I might just chose to skip it for the time being. Another good spot by Kennedy, who as far as I'm concerned is the foremost scholar on Adam Smith.

UPDATE: More