The Harvard Gazette recently published a story about new research out of Harvard Medical School that “raises new questions about weight gain and energy use in the general obese population.” This study represents just one of many that seek to find the a gene that determines a complex human trait, a pursuit that I think … Read more
The Harvard Gazette recently published a story about new research out of Harvard Medical School that “raises new questions about weight gain and energy use in the general obese population.” This study represents just one of many that seek to find the a gene that determines a complex human trait, a pursuit that I think … Read more
Though you most likely have never heard it and never will, you can well assume there is nothing quite like the sound of vinyl records exploding. But let’s say for a second that, on a sweltering July day in 1979, you attended a White Sox doubleheader at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Let’s say you brought … Read more
Frankly, there’s no good way to write this article. The United Kingdom is banning porn, and there’s nothing you can do about it. That, in itself, isn’t even the craziest part of Prime Minister David Cameron’s creepy invasion into the British computer: according to Open Rights Group, the ban, which can be removed per an individual’s … Read more
Secretary of State John Kerry is an important man, so you’d think the respected international statesman’s social media team would have put a little bit more thought into what Secretary Kerry used as his personal Twitter signature (the signature lets readers know that it’s John Kerry personally sending a tweet, and not some anonymous member of the … Read more
National Journal‘s quadrennial “Decision Makers” feature of the Obama administration’s top officials reveals that 40 percent have either an undergraduate or graduate degree from an Ivy League institution. Harvard takes first with 23 undergraduate and 38 graduate degrees; Harvard led the way in 2009, as well. Of the 250 officials profiled by National Journal, only 25 percent have … Read more
National Journal‘s quadrennial “Decision Makers” feature of the Obama administration’s top officials reveals that 40 percent have either an undergraduate or graduate degree from an Ivy League institution. Harvard takes first with 23 undergraduate and 38 graduate degrees; Harvard led the way in 2009, as well. Of the 250 officials profiled by National Journal, only 25 percent have … Read more
“The confidence of an era can be assessed by the width of the gap between scientific and moral reasoning. In periods of confusion and uncertainty, the turn to aesthetics (of whatever form) becomes more pronounced.” – David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity (1989) Allow me to riff a bit on Harvey’s observation. To elaborate: in … Read more
On July 21, Japan went to the polls to elect a new prime minister and decide on the make-up of the Upper House of the Japanese Parliament, the National Diet. The results were not surprising, not for the Japanese, nor for the international press. Shinzo Abe, chosen for the second time to be the acting … Read more
Russia has recently returned to the headlines in the wake of the Edward Snowden odyssey, but otherwise the nation’s domestic politics have remained off the radar since the brief flurry of post-election protests in March. Since then, the general notion has been that Putin has rebuffed the political threat and continued to consolidate control over … Read more