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> is actually a very valuable contribution to science and society -- what are the point of such models if they don't work

Agreed. Some papers just say, "We tried this and it doesn't work", and that's a contribution, too.

I would just like to point out that there is a good amount of unwarranted drama that overemphasizes his contribution and unnecessarily attacks fundamental contributions like the Black-Scholes model. It's especially appealing to the larger public who are looking for a black & white "us vs. them" simplified explanation for the financial crisis.