Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 20, 2004|Volume 32, Number 19

In the News
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"I think presidential candidates face the dilemma of having to smile in a way to appeal directly to the electorate, but not to seem lightweight."

-- Angus Trumble, curator of paintings and sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art, and author of "A Brief History of the Smile," "Fast Chat: Something to Smile About," Newsweek, Feb. 16, 2004

"The epidemiology [on electro-magnetic fields] is weak. You can go two ways with that. You can say there's no risk and let's put a bunch of kids in the middle of it. Or you can take a more precautionary approach and do prudent things to reduce exposures."

-- Peter Rabinowitz, assistant professor of internal medicine and occupational medicine, "Tower of Power: People Power Fighting Power Mainlining," New Haven Advocate, Feb. 5, 2004.

"I take care of crash victims for a living, because I am a physician in a trauma center. ... What I see with my own eyes is what the statistics say: Teen highway crash victims far, far outnumber any other age group. Drivers ages 16-19 have a fatality rate four times the rate of drivers ages 25-69. Sixteen-year-olds have almost 10 times the crash risk of drivers ages 30-59. Sixty-five percent of teenage passenger deaths take place when another teen is driving."

-- Dr. Phillip Brewer, assistant professor of surgery, in his article "It Takes Time To Be a Safe Driver," New Haven Register, Feb. 4, 2004.

"The logic of a much larger role for China in the world economy -- not just as a passive participant but as a leader in managing it -- is compelling. It is premature to talk about a U.S.-China partnership -- a 'Group of Two' -- as the spine of a new governing arrangement, but it's not ridiculous to think something like that may eventually be necessary."

-- Jeffrey E. Garten, dean of the School of Management, in his article "It's Time To Let China Into the Clubhouse," Business Week, Feb. 2, 2004.

"In the last 20 years, we have done things in many ways so badly, so foolishly, often with the best of intentions -- like dropping a stock exchange in Mozambique or xeroxing copies of the U.S. Constitution. I think we can do better."

-- Amy Lynn Chua, professor of law, about bringing free markets and elections to developing nations, "On the Dark Side of Democracy," The New York Times, Jan. 31, 2004.

"Better for a student to spend his high school career mastering English and then a Romance language and leave Arabic to his college years. First things first."

-- Benjamin Foster, the William M. Laffan Professor of Assyriology and Babylonian Literature, about increased interest in the language, "Arabic Instruction Catches On Slowly," The Hartford Courant, Feb. 1, 2004.

"When you push Americans to consider the tradeoffs that tax cuts might entail, tradeoffs in terms of other governing priorities, overwhelmingly Americans supported other ends besides tax cuts. Taxes pay for education and Social Security and Medicare and protection of our waterways and our skies. Taxes pay for military defense, for fighting terrorism; they pay for benefits that America's most vulnerable citizens depend upon."

-- Jacob Hacker, the Peter Strauss Family Assistant Professor of Political Science, "Contradictions Between Lower Taxes and Less Government," "Day to Day," National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2004.

"Groups designed as circular firing squads don't succeed over time. Great business leaders, like great statesmen, require integrity, imagination, inspiration, implementations and win/win solutions."

-- Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean of the School of Management, about the reality show "The Apprentice," in which contestants compete for a job with entrepreneur Donald Trump, "This Week's Question," USA Today, Jan. 30, 2004.

"If a doctor tells a patient, 'With your diagnosis, there's a 50% chance of living three months,' unless that patient understands probability, that's going to confuse them."

-- Dr. Terri R. Fried, associate professor of internal medicine, "When a Doctor Must Say the Worst," Los Angeles Times, Jan. 26, 2004.

"Scientists know all the right answers and none of the right questions."

-- David Gelernter, professor of computer science, "Eternal Search for Wisdom Generates Laws Unto Themselves," Courier Mail (Queensland, Australia), Jan. 31, 2004.

"A lot can be learned from the tone and sound of someone's voice; there is nuance and emphasis you might not get if it were only written down."

-- Vivian Perlis, director of the Oral History, American Music project at the School of Music, about the recordings in the project, "Yale Collection Captures History in Musicians' Words," New Haven Register, Feb. 1, 2004.

"Women tend to wait longer to seek treatment. That is probably related to the atypical symptoms [of heart attacks in women]. ... We try not to discourage people from coming to the emergency department. Don't ignore symptoms."

-- Dr. Lisa A. Freed, clinical instructor in internal medicine, "Women Should Pay Attention to Possible Symptoms of Heart Disease," New Haven Register, Jan. 25, 2004.

"Social science experts point out that never in the history of mankind has the weather mattered less. We have devices like central heating, cars and refrigerators that make climactic changes largely irrelevant. These individuals believe that the incessant worry about the weather is a nostalgic throwback to our ancient roots when the weather really did matter. Then again, some of us think that economists, social scientists and weathermen are closely related to astrologists, only less accurate."

-- Dr. Robert Ostroff, associate clinical professor of psychiatry, about the new "disorder" he calls Fear of Snow (FOS) in his article "Feeling Panicky About Snow? You're Suffering From FOS," New Haven Register, Feb. 1, 2004.

"It's extremely important that engineers understand the social implications of their designs."

-- Natalie Jeremijenko, lecturer in mechanical engineering, "Robotic Dogs Programmed With a Social Conscience," The Associated Press, Feb. 8, 2004.

"First it was fat, now it's carbs. People see these foods that are being labeled as being low in carbs and they think they're being issued a free pass. They're not paying attention to calories, and they're being duped once again by the food industry into thinking they're doing something positive."

-- Kelly D. Brownell, chair of the Department of Psychology and director of the Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, "They Come To Praise the Carb, Not Bury It," The New York Times, Feb. 4, 2004.

"Basically, doctors don't get much training in nutrition, and so they know only one diet -- the one that works for them -- and if you can't make that work for you, they don't understand. They think it's about choice and willpower. They'll say to you, 'Just push yourself back from the table.'"

-- Dr. Lisa Sanders, clinical instructor in internal medicine, "City Doctor's 'Perfect Fit Diet' Gives Dieters Something To Chew On," New Haven Register, Feb. 8, 2004.

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

Report decries illegal logging in Indonesia

Yale and unions launch 'historic' new partnership'

Journalist describes adventures at 'tip of the spear' of the Iraq invasion

Yale climbers find serenity in high places

Yale College term bill to rise by 5% next year

Researchers report promising results in study . . .

Study of muscles yields clues about genetic causes of diabetes

Works pay tribute to 'lost culture' of Native Americans

Wasserman to women science students: 'Become a consumer of jobs'

Biostatistician elected fellow of statistical association

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes