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"One of the things Americans do least well is to contemplate, meditate and be alone with themselves and with their thoughts."
-- Dr. Sherwin B. Nuland, clinical professor of surgery, suggesting that a "meditation garden" be constructed on the World Trade Center site,
"A 16-Acre Memorial That'll Never Be,"
The New York Times, Nov. 13, 2003.
§
"To be rewarded or even recognized for your work in your own lifetime is too much to count on in this complicated world. If you are indeed a genius, consider enjoying your genius and leaving it at that."
-- David Gelernter, professor of computer science, about a scientist who protested when he didn't win
a Nobel Prize in his article "Conduct Unbecoming," The Wall Street Journal, Nov. 25, 2003.
§
"The moment I remember most was when we flew out of North Korean airspace and into Seoul, we left a land of darkness and suddenly there were all these lights. I mean it was just brilliantly lit, and as we got closer there was all this teeming activity and I said to myself, 'This is what democracy means. It is the exact same people, the exact same culture, only 20, 30 miles apart, and the only difference between a world of darkness and a world of light is the form of government that they have chosen.'"
-- Harold Hongju Koh, the Gerard C. & Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law, about a trip he took with Madeleine Albright while working for the State Department, "Battling the Darkness, With the Law as His Lamp," The New York Times, Nov. 11, 2003.
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"All of a sudden, with the end of the Cold War and with borders down, it was easy for Russia to be a through-port of heroin from Afghanistan and into Europe -- the stuff sort of fell off the boat, as it were."
-- Robert Heimer, associate professor of epidemiology and public health and of pharmacology, "Are Former Soviet Nations Plodding Down Wrong Path? Experts Lack Optimism for the Region," AIDS Alert, Nov. 1, 2003.
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"What this pastor did was basically teach the child that God is an angry, spiteful, punishing entity, and you'd better be good or God will get you."
-- Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of psychiatry and of nursing, about a pastor arrested for giving "holy spankings" to child parishioners, "Minister To Go on Trial for Spanking Child Parishioners," Associated Press, Nov. 2, 2003.
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"Imagine if you remembered everything. It would be overwhelming."
-- Dr. Amy Arnsten, associate professor of neurobiology, about drugs that activate long-term memory, but impair working memory, "Memory Drugs May Be Harmful; Yale Study Raises Flags About Chemical Enhancers," New Haven Register, Nov. 17, 2003.
§
"I don't think Vietnam gets anything more than goodwill and maybe some hard currency spending by the visiting sailors."
-- Nayan Chanda, director of publications at the Center for the Study of Globalization, about the first U.S. frigate to stop in Ho Chi Minh City in three decades, "American Frigate To Visit 28 Years After Humiliating U.S. War Exit," Agence France Presse,
Nov. 17, 2003.
§
"The Jewish population in Turkey now numbers around 30,000. Yet the presence of the Jews in Turkey cannot be measured in numbers alone. They are a testament to the peaceful coexistence of Jews and Muslims not only in medieval Spain but throughout the old Levant. This is something the murderous forces of Islamic terrorism, who attacked synagogues in other areas of Istanbul on Saturday, would like to obliterate."
-- Seyla Benhabib, the Eugene Meyer Professor of Political Science, in her article "In Turkey, a History Lesson in Peace," The New York Times, Nov. 18, 2003.
§
"Some of the old universities in Britain, and I don't mean just Oxford and Cambridge, have rich ancient traditions, wonderful buildings and an environment which encourages respect for learning, and this is something that Americans do brilliantly. Americans value and aspire to the antiquity of the British system at its best. Yale actually set up a collegiate system modeled on Oxford and Cambridge, which is some kind of tribute."
-- Alice Prochaska, University librarian, "World Class?" Guardian Unlimited, Nov. 18, 2003.
§
"If you're scrambling for your political existence, you can't afford political slip-ups."
-- Donald Green, the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of Political Science, "Challengers Unfazed by Lack of Name Recognition, Funds," New Haven Register, Nov. 2, 2003.
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"You have to remember that we as citizens are allowed by law to arrange our financial affairs in such a way that we minimize our taxes."
-- Shyam Sunder, the James L. Frank Professor of Private Enterprise & Management, "Senate Hearings on the Nation's Tax Shelter Industry," "Day to Day," National Public Radio, Nov. 18, 2003.
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"Just as some human beings grow faster and larger than others, so do some countries -- and with much the same results. If you are powerful and muscular and stand around two meters tall, you can usually get your way against a smaller, weaker being. If you are a great power or, better still, the world's greatest power, the smaller countries have little influence over you."
-- Paul Kennedy, the J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History, about a new report predicting that China and India will match the United States in wealth and influence by 2050 in his article "Awakening Giants Tipped To Tilt Balance of World Power," The Australian, Nov. 24, 2003.
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"The mutual fund concept is perfectly fine. Mutual funds have done a lot of good things for people. But this [improper trading] has got to stop."
-- David DeRosa, adjunct professor at the School of Management, "Once-Sleepy Mutual Funds Now a Juggernaut, But Scandals Loom," Agence France Presse, Nov. 9, 2003.
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"Superficial thought is becoming institutionalized as great companies are disparaged for such practices as: failing to split the chairman/CEO roles; allowing former CEOs to sit on the board; not imposing a retirement age for directors; and tolerating large numbers of inside directors. Ironically, Enron, WorldCom and Tyco would have, on the surface, satisfied many if not all of such criteria. There is not only no research to support these governance myths -- there is growing research that supports possible opposite conclusions."
-- Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the School of Management, in his article "The 'Compliance Industry' Is Going Too Far," Chief Executive, Nov. 2003.
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"Dow 10,000 is not as significant as the first time. Back then, people had never seen the number before and it seemed like an impossible dream. But it doesn't feel the same now. What we've seen is a reaction to good economic news. But it's the same sort of excitement in terms of any other market rally."
-- Robert J. Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics, "Investors Cautious
as Dow Nears 10,000," Associated Press, Nov. 15, 2003.
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"We give [toy robotic dogs] brain transplants, so that they do something useful instead of barking the national anthem or begging for plastic bones."
-- Natalie Jeremijenko, lecturer in mechanical engineering, about a class project to build mobile toxin sensors, "Domesticating the (Electronic) Help," The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2003.
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"The word 'eugenics' is a fighting word, and is used by people to discredit things that they don't like. It doesn't really get to the heart or the pros and cons of the issue."
-- Daniel Kevles, the Stanley Woodward Professor of History, about a controversial project that pays drug addicts to get themselves sterilized, "America's New Family Values," The Independent, Nov. 25, 2003.
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"In medical school and beyond, the goal is a single, elegant diagnosis. But our patients' diseases don't always cooperate."
-- Dr. Lisa Sanders, clinical instructor in internal medicine, in her article "Male Pattern Baldness, Irregular Periods, Dark Skin Patches," The New York Times, Nov. 16, 2003.
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"[Regarding sending children to pre-school] Sooner is better than later. Longer is better than shorter."
-- Walter Gilliam, associate research scientist at the Child Study Center, "Education Department Begins Preschool Push," Associated Press, Nov. 21, 2003.
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"Political and military events in Iraq and Afghanistan have turned the Western gaze again to the East, and the ideas and cultures of South and Central Asia are nearer to the center of global affairs than at any time in recent memory."
-- George Joseph, fellowship advisor at the Center for International and Area Studies, "Influence of India," The Hartford Courant, Nov. 16, 2003.
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"I wouldn't say that [Chagas disease is] as rare as hen's teeth, but it's rare. It's one of the top threats to the blood supply, but it's an emerging threat."
-- Dr. Ravi V. Durvasula, medical director of University Health Services, about a parasitic infection common in Latin America that is threatening U.S. blood supplies, "Rare Infection Threatens To Spread in Blood Supply," The New York Times, Nov. 18, 2003.
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"If the uptick in the stock market continues, this area [the antiques market] will rebound."
-- William N. Goetzmann, the Edwin J. Beinecke Professor of Finance and Management Studies, "Finally, a Few Buyers Are Returning to Antiques," The New York Times, Nov. 9, 2003.
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"Some students need this [organic garden] as a break. Some pick a head of cabbage here and put it in a stir-fry. Others read 'Hamlet' out here in this bit of green space."
-- Josh Viertel, student at Yale College, "Yale Cafeteria Sticks With Local Food," The Hartford Courant, Nov. 13, 2003.
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Groundbreakings celebrate construction of new chemistry andengineering buildingsFacility will support state-of-the-art research . . .
Building will house new Department of Biomedical Engineering
Eire autobiography wins National Book Award
Dyslexia has been hurdle for scientist and 'Ironman' competitor
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPSDiMaio is appointed as Von Zedtwitz Professor of Genetics
Hebert designated as C.N.H. Long Professor of Physiology
Somlo named as C.N.H. Long Professor in Internal Medicine
In Focus: Center for Faith and Culture
Center aims to ease patients' anxiety about breast cancer
Noël Valis' book awarded Modern Language Association prize
Journalist reports greater willingness to talk openly in China
City students to study Shakespeare in new Yale Rep program
Drama School to stage Wilder's play about 'First Family'
Human evolution preserved in 'pseudogenes,' say scientists
Study: Mother's anti-depressant doesn't affect her nursing baby
Study shows spiritual belief and prayer can aid high-risk youth
The Fine Art of Shopping
'Sacred spaces' on campus featured in new calendar
Alternative Gift Market allows shoppers to help the world's poor
Pepper Center awards will support research related to aging process
Scientists to refine literacy game with support from grant
Dr. Barry Kacinski dies; renowned for work in field of DNA repair
Leon Clark dies; his work enhanced understanding of other cultures
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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