Yale Bulletin and Calendar

March 2, 2007|Volume 35, Number 20

In the News
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"The whole 'love the sinner, hate the sin'-type rhetoric that you get in a lot of Christianity is basically bogus hypocrisy. What makes something wrong in Christianity ... is, does it hurt somebody?"

-- Dale Martin, the Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies, "What's Not Said in Polite Society," New Haven Register, Feb. 18, 2007.

"Since people, human nature, our moods and our genes are all pretty much the same today as they were 10, or 50 or 150 years ago, changes in the prevalence of conditions [like eating disorders] tend to be linked to changes in the environment. More tasty food is more constantly and abundantly available to us all than ever before in history. Emotional needs may be changing little over time, but the availability of food as a means to address those needs is changing a lot. Any tendency to overeat is doubtless aggravated by the proliferating opportunities for doing so."

-- Dr. David Katz, associate professor adjunct in public health practice at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, in his article, "Binge Eating Borders on the Norm," New Haven Register, Feb. 5, 2007.

"Rather than a charismatic and rhetoric leader such as Britain's Churchill or France's De Gaulle or the U.S.'s John F. Kennedy, Korea needs a political leader who can present assurance, hope and vision."

-- Paul Kennedy, the J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History, "Korea's Next President Should Lead like Truman," Maeil Business Newspaper (Korea), Feb. 7, 2007.

"Of the more than 40 democracies created since World War II, fewer than 10 can be considered truly 'constitutional' -- meaning that their domestic order is protected by a broadly accepted rule of law, and has survived for at least a generation. None is a country with Arabic and Muslim political cultures. None has deep sectarian and ethnic fissures like those in Iraq. ... This is not to say that Arabs cannot become liberal democrats. When they immigrate to the United States, many do so quickly. But it is to say that Arab countries, as well as a large majority of all countries, find creating a stable constitutional democracy beyond their capacities."

-- William E. Odom, adjunct professor of political science, in his article, "Victory Is Not an Option; The Mission Can't Be Accomplished -- It's Time for a New Strategy," The Washington Post, Feb. 11, 2007.

"Team sports are hard on somebody who is severely short. Someone of short stature usually needs to look for sports where you excel because of your individual talents."

-- Dr. Myron Genel, professor emeritus of pediatrics, "Little Tito Plays Big Basketball," Connecticut Post, Feb. 11, 2007.

"This has been the biggest housing boom in world history, and when one looks at a long-term chart of U.S. home prices, this boom stands out among the other price increases like the highest kite in the park."

-- Robert J. Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics, adjunct professor at the Law School and professor at the School of Management, in his article, "Things That Go Boom," The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 8, 2007.

"The advantage of a small processor is it's faster and lower-power, meaning your battery life will be longer. You won't need to recharge your cellphone or Blackberry or laptop as often. If you can lengthen the battery life by a factor of two, that is tremendous. And that's what this thing does."

-- Tso-Ping Ma, the Raymond J. Wean Professor of Electrical Engineering and chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, on the new hafnium chips, which can reduce power loss, letting chipmakers create ever-smaller processors, "Supplies of New Chip Metal Hafnium Remain Untested," Reuters News, Feb. 13, 2007.

"On paper [the new counter-insurgency plan for Iraq] makes sense. Insurgencies are fueled, at least in part, by public support. Engage that public positively and you take away some of that support. What it means on the ground, though, is that our soldiers and Marines will have to interact with Iraqis who may want to kill them. ... Convoys that used to race through dangerous neighborhoods will now have to slow down. Foot patrols will have to stop and 'chat.' I don't envy those leaders in the field who have to get this message across to their troops, and I certainly don't envy those troops."

-- Kenneth Harbaugh, student at the Law School, in his article, "The Perils, and Fears, of an Engagement Policy," "All Things Considered," National Public Radio, Feb. 9, 2007.

"Studies have shown that especially for the last 30 years either due to economic reasons or advances in science, mothers between 30 and 35, first-time mothers, increased approximately 35%. And mothers between 40 and 44 increased 70%, first-time births. ... [A]s far as we know, this trend of increasing maternal age and its complications are also increasing around the world as well."

-- Dr. Mert Bahtiyar, instructor in obstetrics and gynecology, "Women Over 40 at Three Times the Risk for Stillbirth: Study," Canada AM, Feb. 12, 2007.

''The diagnosis [of binge eating] requires the feeling that you can't stop. And it's that loss of control that makes it a psychiatric disorder different from someone just overindulging every now and then.''

-- Marlene Schwartz, research scientist in psychology, "Survey Puts New Focus on Binge Eating as a Diagnosis," The New York Times, Feb. 13, 2007.

"[Nineteenth-century English author] Thomas Hardy's life could have made a novel: a poor provincial boy rises to unthinkable eminence by dint of talent and sheer hard work, overcoming every obstacle placed in his way. But people have stopped writing novels like that, and one of the reasons is Thomas Hardy. Hardy changed his life by changing the way novels were written, discarding their familiar patterns and their reflexive optimism."

-- William Deresiewicz, associate professor of English, in his review of Claire Tomalin's "Thomas Hardy," "Unhappy Endings," New Republic, Feb. 19-26, 2007.

''This study [suggesting that taking a mid-day nap is good for the heart] seems to be reasonably well done, but maybe that ability to take a nap is a marker of a different kind of lifestyle that itself reduces risk. Maybe leading a more leisurely life is the message, rather than running home to take a nap.''

-- Dr. Henry S. Cabin, professor of internal medicine, "Regular Midday Snoozes Tied to a Healthier Heart," The New York Times, Feb. 13, 2007.

"[New U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon] is, either accidentally or by design, taking on a lot of reform issues that pinch the NAM [Non-Aligned Movement] rather than ones that pinch the United States. We don't know yet whether he's going to turn around and pursue with equal vigor the kinds of reforms that are not that popular in Washington."

-- Michael Doyle, visiting professor at the Law School, "Secretary General Faces a Backlash; Some Say He's Out to Reshape U.N. to Accommodate U.S.," Washington Post, Feb. 14, 2007.

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

Study reveals why microbe is a threat to troops in Iraq

Seven Yale students win Gates Scholarships for study in Cambridge

Reaching into the Past: Rare Books at Yale Law School

Team identifies gene that may cause autism in children

Yale Library honors 'sometimes shocking, always subtle' poet

Awards to fund scientists' work on robots, synapses and physics of light

Yale senior is honored with membership in USA Today's . . .

Scholar-athlete is finalist for inaugural ECAC Women's . . .

Important message to those traveling during spring break

Uric acid levels tied to impaired thinking in elderly

Conference on Japan to honor Yale scholar's legacy

Yale Cancer Center announces new medical director for medical oncology

Drama student Alvin McCraney wins first annual Vogel Playwriting Award

Video Games Live™ to perform with Yale Symphony Orchestra

A Hazy Shade of Winter

Campus Notes