“Worrying about your failings as a mother because you didn’t bake homemade cupcakes when the child doesn’t even care
is guilt gone wrong.” §
“In speaking with [students in China today], I’ve been struck
by the clarity of their convictions about China’s past and future. ...
History does not just provide actual lessons from the past, but, more important
for the students, history gives them the chance to consider the right and wrong
of human judgment even though the deeds were done long ago. And for this reason,
they are taking the long view of their country’s future and are reluctant
to put their hope in any sort of quick fix or in any ideal, even one that is
as appealing as democracy.” §
“This is what we do [in this study], hike around looking for monkeys by
themselves who are hungry and want to play. It’s hard to find social creatures
by themselves, and even harder to find ones that aren’t being followed
by other researchers.” §
“Not only food and beverages, but spices and condiments, and also the most
common products — from paper to paperclips, guns to porcelain — owe
their spread to globalization. It took hundreds of years before Chinese paper-making
technology reached the West or India. Now globalization delivers the latest model
of iPod to any part of the world within days. A curse of early globalization — bubonic
plague — took 80 years to spread in Europe; in 2003, the SARS virus, transported
by passengers on jet planes, reached three continents in as many days.” §
“In truth, racial and ethnic diversity have little popular support outside
the United States and Canada. The diversity ideal appears to be a distinctively,
if not uniquely, American (or at least North American) theme. Most of the democracies
that now tolerate ethnic diversity have done so only recently — and perhaps
only temporarily, until their anti-immigrant forces can mount an effective counterattack.” §
“These consumer breathalyzers are interesting and may make you more aware
of your BAC [blood-alcohol content], but there’s no evidence to show that
it’s an effective way of keeping people from driving while impaired. In
fact, they may give people a false sense of security.” §
“Baseball faces a critical moment, no less momentous than the Black Sox
gambling scandal it faced almost 90 years ago. Back then, owners and the players
banded together to restore faith in America’s game by appointing an independent
commissioner. They have the opportunity to restore that faith again today. Half-steps
toward compliance and token posturing are not enough.” §
“While some population studies suggest that vitamin D levels, such as those
that could result from sun exposure, may be beneficial for cancer survival, current
scientific data suggest that proper sun protection remains a key element of a
skin cancer protection program” §
“A slowdown in the U.S. economy for 2008 now appears inescapable. And
the probability of a serious recession cannot be ignored. ... There’s
only so much that can be done with monetary policy without risking serious
undesirable consequences, such as fueling inflationary expectations or creating
severe moral hazard. Furthermore, calls to loosen fiscal policy in order to
reduce the likelihood of a recession should be resisted. That course of action
would worsen, not improve, the already weak national savings rate in the U.S.,
which is at the root of the ongoing tribulations.” §
“Time and again the U.S. has chosen the short-run stability offered by
dictators over building long-term relationships which have a chance to result
in democracy and human development. Our purpose in Pakistan has been clear: engage
a dependable ally in the war on terror. Unfortunately, our chosen instrument,
Pervez Musharraf, has been ineffective either as an ally against the Taliban
and al-Qaeda or in maintaining the support of a population thoroughly disenchanted
with decades of mismanagement under both civilian and military regimes.” §
“It says something about our times that the top quotes of every year are
the ones that are ridiculous. People say things now just to be outrageous or
offensive, like Ann Coulter saying last year of the 9-11 widows, ‘I’ve
never seen people enjoying their husbands’ death so much.’ ... Our
political and cultural life has declined in a lot of ways.” §
“‘What did I come into this room for?’ is a classic frontal
lobe question. … Those are the cells that are talking when you walk into
the room and are saying ‘scissors, scissors, scissors.’ They enable
you to hold memories through distractions. … What it looks like is that
[in the brains of the elderly] those cells are still there, but they become very
sluggish. So something like exercise may help them get going together again.” §
“One hears other people saying things and confirming ideas you have. When
things are commonly accepted, you file it in your brain as something that is
true. ... Now we are all in agreement the housing market is going to fall. That
is what happens when you have contagion of an idea. You are going around wearing
a tie and you realize that no one else is wearing a tie, and suddenly it seems
so wrong to be wearing a tie.”
T H I S
— Margaret Clark, professor of psychology, on how some guilt can be driven
by standards internalized during childhood, which are not realistic, “Get
Rid of Guilt for the New Year,” Real Simple, Dec. 27, 2007.
— Annping Chin, senior lecturer in history, in her article, “The
Newest Mandarins,” The New York Times Magazine, Dec. 16, 2007.
— Laurie Santos, associate professor of psychology, on a study of animals’ thinking
processes conducted on an island that is popular among researchers because of
its free-ranging monkey colony, “Thinking Like a Monkey; What Do Our Primate
Cousins Know and When Do They Know It? Researcher Laurie Santos Is Trying To
Read Their Minds,” Smithsonian, Dec. 21, 2007.
— Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online and director of publications
for the Center for the Study of Globalization, in his article, “Modern
Globalization; Historical Interconnections Between Communities Worldwide Have
Multiplied Manifold in Recent Times,” Business World (New Delhi), Jan.
4, 2008.
— Peter Schuck, the Simeon E. Baldwin Professor of Law, in his article “In
Diversity We (Sorta) Trust,” The American Lawyer, December 2007.
— Linda Degutis, associate professor of surgery (emergency medicine) and
public health, “Personal Alcohol Testers: Worth the Price?; Experts Doubt
the Effectiveness of Consumer-Grade Breathalyzers,” Boston Globe, Dec.
23, 2007.
— Aaron Zelinsky, student at the Law School, on the scandal over the use
of performance-enhancing drugs, in his article, “Put More Muscle in Baseball
Drug Tests,” Hartford Courant, Dec. 18, 2007.
— Dr. David J. Leffell, professor and section chief of dermatologic surgery,
deputy dean of clinical affairs at the School of Medicine and director of the
Yale Medical Group, “Sunlight: Good or Bad for Cancer Risk?” CBS
News, Jan. 7, 2008.
— Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Center for the Study of Globalization
and professor in the field of international economics and politics, in his article, “2008:
Year of Reckoning?” Forbes, Dec. 21, 2007.
— Gustav Ranis, the Frank Altschul Professor Emeritus of International
Economics, in his letter to the editor, “The West Must Support Democracy-Building
in Pakistan,” Financial Times, Jan. 10, 2008.
— Fred R. Shapiro, associate librarian for collections and access services
at the Law School, lecturer in legal research and editor of “The Yale Book
of Quotations,” “Their Oops? We’ll Hear It Again and Again,” The
Washington Post, Dec 31, 2007.
— Amy Arnsten, professor of neurobiology and of psychology, “Exercise
and the Brain,” Hartford Courant, Dec. 28, 2007.
— Robert J. Shiller, the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Economics, “Herd
Mentality Is, By Nature, Catching,” Times-Union (NY), Dec. 31, 2007.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Yale cuts costs for families and students
Homebuyer benefit increased
Fossil solves mystery of extinct animal's origins
Team learns Abu Dhabi desert once lush habitat
Meeting the challenges of nursing care in Nicaragua
Foundation’s gift to the School of Drama establishes . . .
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Marans has been appointed as Harris Professor
Medzhitov named first incumbent of Wallace chair
State is designated as Cohen Associate Professor
Study: Despite efforts, racial disparities in cancer care continue
Law School students argue case before the nation’s highest court
Sharp cited as ‘superb teacher of teachers’
Events commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day
The color printmaking revolution is highlighted in new exhibition
Symposium to examine the university’s role as architectural patron
Forum will explore the use of neuroimaging in study of alcoholism
Memorial Service for George Hersey
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
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