During my hiatus, I received a request for an e-mail interview, asking me to expand on certain issues raised in my big Bill James post from a while ago.
I could be nice and respond to the inteviewer directly. But why do that when I can share my answers with the rest of the world? Here are the questions and my answers.

When did you first start reading Bill James?
When I was about 13, with the 1986 Baseball Abstract and the first version of the Historical Baseball Abstract.

How would you say that you have applied his ideas in your life?
Mostly in a generic attempt to apply modes of critical thinking to whatever I do. I was a history major in college, and took every opportunity to trumpet my belief that with respect to "it was better in my day" jeremiads, 9 out of 10 of such laments are utterly bogus, and the 10th example is usually overstated. Bill James' books are an inexhaustible source of good examples for that point.

Other than just the idea of critical thinking, what would you say are the most
important things James has written about that are applicable to areas outside of
baseball?
As noted above, I think his scrutiny of the historical record is remarkably relevant for those who would draw lessons from history - i.e., most of us.

Do you feel that James' ideas are expressed more by conservative writers, or equally by writers across the conservative [I assume my interviewer means "political" - Dr. M] spectrum. If you feel the ideas have
been more embraced by conservatives, why do you feel this is so?
Dan McLaughlin has written on certain similarities between conservative political media and sabermetric analysts. I see his points, and I'd add another: I do think there is a strong revolutionary undercurrent to James' work, and for many of us who grew up in major metropolitan areas and attended elite universities in the "blue" states, the conventional wisdom that attracted our scorn was primarily liberal.
That being said, I'd be surprised if there was a strong political tilt to James' fans. The skepticism that one picks up from James' work is equally applicable to conservative conventional wisdom as to the liberal variety. Even if there are more conservative Bill James fans among bloggers than liberals, that may simply be a function of sample size or a function of what factors drive people to start blogs, of which I have my own theories that I hope to expand into a post later.
I'd prefer to look on the bright side; sabermetrics, and good baseball writing in general, provides fans with areas for debate and potential agreement that have little to do with one's political leanings. You get situations like Eric Alterman (justifiably) rhapsodizing over George Will's baseball writing.

In what other areas do you feel James has had influence, besides baseball and political journalism?
Not systematically, but there are people in every field who would cite James as an influence. Critical thinking skills are pretty transferable.

Is there another influential writer you would compare Bill James to?
It's become a cliche, but Dan McLaughlin nails it: the George Orwell comparison works to an extent.

Do you know of other writers you would recommend that I speak to regarding this article?

Check out the commenters to my earlier post. Given the theme of this interview, I'd particularly recommend Dwight Meredith (he can give a political liberal's perspective) and Derek Lowe (he's a chemist who cites James as an influence in his work). I'd also contact Matt Welch and Doug Pappas, neither of whom is a political conservative.