Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 28, 2001

Volume 30, Number 4

"If you exercise your intelligence you will increase it. So the best single thing you can do as an adult is to read challenging material, to write, to solve puzzles, play chess, but it's to keep using your intelligence."

-- IBM Professor of Psychology and Education Robert J. Sternberg, "Diet Drugs Disappoint; Do 'Mind Spas' Make You Smarter; Dying Man Gets Second Chance at Life," CNN.com, Aug. 25, 2001.

"The fact there are hundreds of Chinese students present on campus has transformed the university. And the Chinese values and culture certainly lead Yale people to question their own assumptions."

-- Executive director of the Yale-China Association Nancy Chapman, "East Takes Center Stage as Yale Focuses on China," The New York Times, Aug. 29, 2001.

"Suddenly it's not going to be quite so preposterous to have dinner on College Street and zip down to the Cinemas at York Square."

-- Financial analyst at University Properties Andrea Pizziconi, "City Unveils Trolleys for Downtown," New Haven Register, Aug. 29, 2001.

"Science in the private sector is big business, and cutthroat competition in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries has skewed many companies more toward profit, rather than efficacy and safety."

-- Fellow in environmental & human sciences at the Divinity School Peter Gershwin Grossbard in his article "Blinded by the Politics of Science," San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 6, 2001.

"It's pretty clear that a number of the [Supreme Court] justices, as they become more and more exposed to the opinions of foreign judges, are increasingly aware that we are a part of an international system and that they can't simply ignore the views of other courts."

-- Gerard C. & Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law Harold Koh, "National Attitudes Evolve Around Issue of Capital Punishment for Crimes Committed by Minors," "All Things Considered," National Public Radio, Aug. 16, 2001.

"After years of economic depression and war, we were embraced by a strange kind of enthusiasm that everything had to be new and we were certain this [International] style home was the answer because it embodied modesty and simplicity and was built to blend in with the natural surroundings."

-- Sterling Professor Emeritus of the History of Art Vincent Scully, "Architectural Trend Still Stirs Passions," The New York Times, Aug. 26, 2001.

"Functionally, small changes can lead to big differences in development."

-- Professor of neurobiology Pasko Rakic about how human brain development is diferent from that of monkeys and mice, "Discovery Shows Path of Thought," The Hartford Courant, Aug. 27, 2001.

"Trauma can elicit great rage. When we lose part of ourselves, there is a natural aggressive reaction. In Vietnam the trigger for atrocities against innocent civilians was not a hatred of the Vietnamese but the loss of comrades killed by an enemy that could not be seen and fought."

-- Professor of psychiatry and public health Dr. Robert A. Rosenheck, "During Traumatic Times, Small Acts Can Bring a Measure of Comfort," The New York Times, Sept. 14, 2001.

"It's amazing -- given that Americans have been collecting Hadley chests since the 19th century -- that it has taken more than a century for the settle to surface."

-- Curator of American decorative arts at the Art Gallery Patricia Kane about an 18th-century bench purchased by a Deerfield, Massachusetts museum, "Deerfield Snags Rare Bird," The New York Times, Aug. 24, 2001.

"For it's no accident that a group promising freedom from sexual inhibition is also interested in cloning, freedom from biological limitation. And both freedoms, by replacing sacrifice with indulgence, make for bad habits."

-- Graduate fellow of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion Mark Oppenheimer about the Raelian movement, founded in 1974 by a former French race car driver who says he was visited by aliens, in his article "Cloning and the Cult," The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 24, 2001.

"Merely the fact that you are attacking the policies of corporations or any other institutions in our society -- government, foundations, newspapers, whatever -- is not a ground for disqualification [to receive federal funds]."

-- Augustus E. Lines Professor of Law John Simon, "Massive Attack," In These Times, Sept. 3, 2001.

"Gender plays a large role. . . . We may not think these (gender) differences are politically correct but, by God, they're developmentally correct."

-- Clinical professor at the Child Study Center Kyle Pruett, "Growing up with Gay Parents," USA Today, Aug. 23, 2001.

"If an outfielder waits until he can visually tell where the ball will land, that takes almost two seconds."

-- Sterling Professor Emeritus of Physics Robert Adair explaining why outfielders learn to interpret how far a hit ball will go from the "crack" of the bat, "Baseball: The Crack (or Thunk) of the Bat," Newsweek, Aug. 27, 2001.

"It is very possible that [embryonic stem cells] will either not be available or available at exorbitant prices with all sorts of legal clauses attached."

-- Associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology Dr. Diane Krause, "And What About the Science?" Time, Aug. 20, 2001.

"The knowledge imbedded in the teaching profession in Japan makes even the most seasoned mathematical educator at universities here look very green."

-- Frederick Phineas Rose Professor of Math Roger E. Howe, "Why Asian Students Have an Edge in Math: More Attention Paid to Teaching Methods in Lower Grades, Expert Finds," The Vancouver Sun, Aug. 22, 2001.

"A theory of [the entire cerebral] cortical functional architecture down to the level of individual neurons and functional circuits would be very nice."

-- Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience Patricia Goldman-Rakic describing her scientific goal, "Mind Reader," Time, Aug. 20, 2001.

"It troubles me that a litmus test may be developing that judges people solely on the basis of their response to the question, 'Are you for or against reparations?' I can envision a time in the near future when energy will be expended, fingers will be pointed and questions will be raised about the legitimacy of leadership revolving around the response to this loaded question."

-- Corporation member Kurt Schmoke in his article "The Problem With Payback," washingtonpost.com, Aug. 28, 2001.

"In this era of relativism, an interest in the debates over slavery and America's most destructive war can reflect a discontent with the present, on the part of both blacks and whites, and a longing for an era when moral issues seemed clear cut."

-- Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance & Abolition David Brion Davis in his article "The Enduring Legacy of the South's Civil War Victory," The New York Times, Aug. 26, 2001.

"The good news is [the water quality of the Quinnipiac River is] getting better. The bad news is there still are problems that are difficult but not impossible to solve. We hope with the report that there will be more public awareness."

-- Program director at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Mary Tyrrell, "Toxic Legacy: 150 Years of Abuse Turned Quinnipiac River Into a Quagmire of Chemicals, According to Yale Study," New Haven Register, July 29, 2001.

"I'm basically someone who doesn't like computers, who doesn't like spending time on them."

-- Professor of computer science David Gelernter about why he wants to design a new desktop for the PC, "There Must Be a Better Way . . ." The Industry Standard, July 9, 2001.

"[Author Isaac Babel] was a man taken by the Russian Revolution from the smallness of the Jewish world near Odessa, where he was born, and given a global stage, which he exploited to become one of the most famous literary celebrities of his era."

-- Editorial director of the Yale Press Jonathan Brent, "Isaac Babel May Yet Have the Last Word," The New York Times, July 11, 2001.

"When you feel powerless and helpless when you are watching this dramatic stuff, your adrenaline gets up and you get keyed up and wired up with no place to use it, so you get strung out. So it is really important to rest, eat, exercise and keep to your daily routine."

-- Associate professor of psychiatry Dr. Charles A. Morgan, "The Real Comfort Foods," The New York Times, Sept. 19, 2001.

"I don't know if the government should bail [the airline industry] out. They should make sure that they keep flying. I don't know if they should bail out stockholders. It creates all sorts of questions. If the airlines, why not everybody else? There's going to be so many firms that are going to suffer."

-- Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics Robert J. Shiller, "Stock Market Analysis," CNNfn, Sept. 18, 2001.

"The problem with the criminal justice system is that every time you put one of these guys on trial, you expose (under the rules of disclosure) what you know about the network, and that tells everybody what they should do to do better next time."

-- Professor of law Ruth Wedgwood, "Bin Laden Could Face Tough Military Trials, Experts Say: Civilian Justice Would Expose West's Intelligence Network, Allow Terrorist Boss to 'Rally His Young Men'," The Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 19, 2001.

"People say profiling makes them feel like criminals. It does -- I know this firsthand. But would that I had been made to feel like a criminal a thousand times than to live to see the grisly handiwork of real criminals in New York and Washington."

-- Graduate student in the Department of Political Science Tarek E. Masoud in his letter to the editor "American Muslims: Be American!" The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 14, 2001.

"It is a profound affront to be metered and measured. And that is, I think, the debate of the future."

-- Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science Bruce Ackerman about increased security measures at airports, "Technology Will Play Bigger Role In Security," The New York Times, Sept. 18, 2001.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale will proceed with Tercentennial celebration

Peabody's insects inspire fascination in scholars far and near

Talk by philanthropist surgeon to open United Way appeal

Service of Remembrance

J. Lloyd Suttle is appointed deputy provost

Benefit concert to help families of tragedy's fallen

Convocation to celebrate Yale's long tradition of theological education . . .

Grant supports professors' study of dwindling voter turnout

Panelists share experiences on matters of gender

Famed Bolshoi Theatre ballerina describes a life devoted to dance

Forest management certification program is launched

Students win grants for environmental research around the world

Insects are special of the day on Peabody Museum menu

Remembering the struggle

Trumbull Lecture will examine 1828 treatise on liberal education

Employee Day at the Bowl

Campus Notes