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"Journalism, in many ways, is writing the first draft of history. You're watching things happening before you, and you're trying to assess the significance. ... History gives you the rearview mirror."
-- Director of publications at the Center for the Study of Globalization Nayan Chanda, "Going Beyond the First Draft of History," Jakarta Post, June 13, 2002
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"If agriculture has taken up just a minute in the day of human history, industrial agriculture has been a nanosecond. No one has any reason to believe that it will survive in its present form."
-- Assistant professor of history & American studies Steven Stoll in his article "Postmodern Farming, Quietly Flourishing," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 21, 2002.
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"I think men die earlier [than women] not because of hormones but because of negligence."
-- Associate clinical professor of internal medicine Dr. Siegfried Kra, "Even Model's Metabolism Slows," Detroit Free Press, June 29, 2002.
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"Every trial lawyer is a storyteller, and the best ones have a narrative gift. That's what makes them as good at their work as they are."
-- Dean of the Law School Anthony Kronman commenting on Law School professor Stephen Carter's new book, "Yale Law Prof Writes Blockbuster; First Novel Propels Carter to Top Publisher Pick," Connecticut Law Tribune, July 1, 2002.
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"Indeed, the longer it continues, the more violence converts clandestine networks into a form of social life."
-- Henry J. Heinz II Professor Emeritus of Comparative Political & Social Development David E. Apter in his letter to the editor "Seeking the Peace," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2002.
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"Survival rates have steadily increased among babies born early or with low birth weight. Unfortunately, the incidence of cerebral palsy has not declined in 10 years, and the population of infants at risk is growing."
-- Professor of pediatrics and neurology Dr. Laura Ment, "New Guidelines for Brain Imaging of Preemies," United Press International, July 1, 2002.
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"History is ultimately a moral art, and it is about values. It is not merely about the collection of facts. It is about the way we put those facts together and the meaning we give them. Arguments about facts are arguments about meaning."
-- Arthur Unobskey Professor of American History John Mack Faragher, "Textbook Publishers Learn: Avoid Messing With Texas," The New York Times, June 29, 2002.
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"Law enforcement techniques that work against criminals seldom work against spies. Criminals normally have no large institutional support systems. They are not backed by foreign governments. They tend to be in a hurry, anxious to get rich, and, although there are exceptions, most are neither intelligent nor well educated. The FBI's main weapons, tapping telephones, using informers, and heavy-handed interrogations, can be effective against many criminals. Such techniques do not work against spies, however, and more recently against terrorists."
-- Adjunct professor of political science William E. Odom in his article "Break Up the FBI," The Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2002.
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"When you confront the student with quantum mechanics, they say, 'Not for me, that's too tough. I want to get out of here with my cotton-candy (courses) in hand.' We're having a hard time convincing students they ought to do push-ups and eat bran flakes for breakfast instead of cotton candy."
-- C. Baldwin Sawyer Professor of Electrical Engineering Jerry Woodall, "Tech Medalists Urge Science Ed," United Press International, June 13, 2002.
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"The embryologist just picks up the best-looking sperm and injects it in the egg, so you suddenly get a population of sperm which fertilizes that could never have fertilized before."
-- Director of the Sperm Physiology Laboratory Gabor Huszar about the need for a new method to assess sperm used in fertility clinics, "New Test Shows Promise in Weeding Out Genetically Damaged Sperm," The Associated Press, July 1, 2002.
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"Let's see the voucher decision for what it is: a tax break for people who live in cities with inadequately financed public schools and who seek relief at taxpayers' expense to pay for their children's private school education."
-- Peter V. & C. Vann Woodward Professor of History Glenda Gilmore in her letter to the editor "Comparing Rulings," The New York Times, July 9, 2002.
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"For 'Moby-Dick' was badly reviewed and helped to harden [Herman] Melville's reputation for having swerved from his real talent into some strange incomprehensible new line. ... His family shared the public's literary tastes far more than they did Melville's own, and he found himself surrounded by people who saw his ambitions in an increasing dim light."
-- Dean of Yale College Richard H. Brodhead in his review of "Herman Melville; A Biography," The New York Times Book Review, June 23, 2002.
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"Little kids these days are asking about dinosaurs even I never heard of."
-- Professor of geology & geophysics and ecology/evolutionary biology Jacques Gauthier, "Beyond T. Rex; Bigger, Fiercer Beasts Take a Bite Out of Its Reputation -- And Change Our View of Dinosaurs," U.S. News & World Report, July 1, 2002.
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"Project-based housing subsidies have proved wasteful and stigmatizing. The direct way to help a deserving household that cannot afford decent shelter is to provide it with more income, perhaps in the form of a transportable housing voucher."
-- Walter E. Meyer Professor of Property & Urban Law Robert C. Ellickson in his letter to the editor "To Get Housing For People in Need," The New York Times, July 6, 2002.
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"In October 1942, Leslie R. Groves, the chief of the wartime effort to build an atomic bomb, met in Chicago with several project scientists, including the mercurial Leo Szilard. Groves felt it important to impress them that he and other military officers had studied a great deal, enough to earn two Ph.D.'s, and were just as smart as the scientists. After Groves left the room, Szilard exploded: 'You see what I told you? How can you work with people like that?'"
-- Stanley Woodward Professor of History Daniel Kevles in his review of the Groves biography "Racing for the Bomb," "If You Build It," The New York Times, June 30, 2002.
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"[Societies such as the United States and imperial Britain] generally like the way the world is ordered, because it's to our advantage. Others want to change it, and we don't want them to. And the only way you're going to be able to deal with them is either to deter them or beat them."
-- Sterling Professor of Classics & History Donald Kagan, "Analysis: Policy Shifts Won't Appease Foes," United Press International, July 17, 2002.
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"[Aaron Copland] was the only one in the 20th-century music world who was able to satisfy everyone. Either composers wrote music that was esoteric and cerebral ... or else they went to Hollywood. Copland was the only one who could do both."
-- Director of Oral History, American Music Vivian Perlis, "Modern Lover; Aaron Copland Gave America a Sound of Its Own," U.S. News & World Report, July 8, 2002.
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"A lot of [asteroids] go into the sun or encounter Jupiter and are deflected out of the solar system. ... I don't see as urgent the necessity of learning how to blow them up or deflect them."
-- Research scientist in physics David Rabinowitz, "Astronomers Try To Get a Better Handle On Flyby Asteroids," New Haven Register, July 9, 2002.
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"It is no secret that shopping and religion are close relatives in America -- money is God, God is heavily marketed, and then there's 'Christian rock' -- but it sure does help to be reminded sometimes. Not surprisingly, neither advertiser-driven media nor religious leaders like to make the connection."
-- Associate professor of sociology Joshua Gamson in his article "The Gods of Shopping," The American Prospect, July 1, 2002.
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