Said and Done | In the Media | November 2015
 

 

A section of Said and Done
Full November 2015 edition
 



 

OPEN COURSE WARE + ANTHROPOLOGY
Rattle your Assumptions | MIT Anthropology classes on OpenCourseWare
MIT Anthropology offers a full array of courses that push students to open their minds and expand their cultural horizons. Recent Anthropology publications cover a variety of concerning and thought-proving topics with curated reading lists. Most courses include links to films and videos as well. Here’s what we’re talking about:
Story at MITOCW | MIT Anthropology


MUSIC
Reviews for "Deep River" by Mark Harvey and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra
"Led by trumpeter-composer Mark Harvey, the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra is something of a miracle as well as a consistent joy. It has been performing brilliantly evocative, varied original music with a steady core of personnel for 43 years." Aardvark’s new disc, Deep River, a suite by the band’s longtime guitarist, Richard Nelson, re-imagines American roots themes.
Artsfuse | All About Jazz, Jack Bowers | All about Jazz, Budd Kopman


POVERTY ACTION LAB
The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor | Abhijit Banerjee
The New York Times reports on new research co-authored by MIT economist Abhijit Banerjee, which finds “no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs discourage work.”
Story at The New York Times
 

WRITING
Junot Díaz Celebrates Neil Gaiman
MIT professor of writing Junot Díaz hosted a recent event to celebrate multi-genre writer Neil Gaiman, “one of the most important fantasists and comics writers ever.”
Video conversation
 


Neil Gaiman and MIT Professor of Writing Junot Díaz in conversation


 

ECONOMICS
The Poverty Cure: Get Married | David Autor
This article on the statistical relationship between marriage and poverty, research by MIT economist David Autor into the behavioral effects that poverty has on young men versus young women.
Story at the Wall Street Journal
 

ANTHROPOLOGY
Ka-Ching: pokies documentary reveals what makes the machines so addictive | Natasha Schull
Facing an epidemic of problem gamblers, Australia examines the addictive qualities of digital poker machines. The Guardian reports on a new documentary about the phenomenon, which draws on research by MIT anthropologist Natasha Schull.
Story
 

ECONOMICS
Why What You Learned in Preschool Is Crucial at Work | David Autor
In an article on the importance of social skills in the modern economy, the New York Times quotes MIT economist David Autor, who explains the double bind of service jobs: “If it’s just technical skill, there’s a reasonable chance it can be automated, and if it’s just being empathetic or flexible, there’s an infinite supply of people, so a job won’t be well paid.”
Story at New York Times
 

ECONOMICS
How Not to Be Replaced by Robots: Better Brush Up on Your Social Skills | David Autor
“People tend to underestimate that, as we mechanize one set of things, we think of all kinds of new things to do,” MIT economist David Autor tells Bloomberg Business. The way we respond “is through our creativity and also through educating ourselves. We continue to make ourselves relevant.”
Story at Bloomberg
 


 

Articles about Sherry Turkle's new book, Reclaiming Conversation:


SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Connecting With Sherry Turkle: My Q and A With the Author of 'Reclaiming Conversation’
“My research shows that we are too busy connecting to have the conversations that count, the kind of conversation in which we give each other our full attention, the kind where we allow an idea to develop, where we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.”
Story at The Huffington Post


SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Author Sherry Turkle: ‘I don’t want to be the telephone police’ | Sherry Turkle
“We have everything we need for the kind that builds real empathy: We have each other.”
Story at The Boston Globe
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
The Flight From Conversation | Sherry Turkle
“Over-reliance on devices, Turkle argues, is harming our ability to have valuable face-to-face conversations, “the most human thing we do,” by splitting our attention and diminishing our capacity for empathy.”
Story at The Atlantic


SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Sherry Turkle: ‘I am not anti-technology, I am pro-conversation’
The Guardian (UK) interviews MIT anthropologist Sherry Turkle regarding her new book, Reclaiming Conversation. “The thrust of my argument,” Turkle says, “is not that we have a device that has constant conversation on it. It is with the fact that there are no limits on that.”
Story at The Guardian
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Review: ‘Reclaiming Conversation’ by Sherry Turkle
“Is our reliance on smartphone technology damaging our humanity? Turkle, professor of the social studies of science and technology at MIT and author of several books on our evolving relationship with technology, answers yes, emphatically.”
Story at The Boston Globe
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Interview: Sherry Turkle on why “I’m not the Darth Vader of social media”
In this interview with Salon, MIT’s Sherry Turkle discusses the importance of conversations without digital distractions. “You’re getting the bare bones of a relationship,” she says. “You’re learning empathy and continuity.”
Story at Salon
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Texting Isn't the Problem: A Conversation With Sherry Turkle About Reclaiming Conversation
At the Huffington Post, Davis Schneiderman interviews STS faculty Sherry Turkle about her acclaimed new book, Reclaiming Conversation. “My message of this project is not that you shouldn't enjoy your Twitter,” Turkle says, “it's just that when you're talking to me, you should put it aside.”
Story at The Huffington Post
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Do Lawyers Need Offices Anymore? | Sherry Turkle
How important is the physical office space? “When things go virtual,” MIT’s Sherry turtle tells The Atlantic, “you lose a lot of the serendipity where you set out to do one thing and something else develops.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/do-lawyers-need-offices-anymore/409417/

 


 

JPAL
The Myth of Welfare’s Corrupting Influence on the Poor | Abhijit Banerjee
The New York Times reports on new research co-authored by MIT economist Abhijit Banerjee, which finds “no systematic evidence that cash transfer programs discourage work.”
Story at The New York Times

 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Spooky Interactions | Latest experiments on quantum entanglement
David Kaiser on Quantum Theory
New York Times article
 

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Drone sightings reported near airliners | David Mindell
MIT professor David Mindell is interviewed by MSNBC about recent near-misses between commercial airliners and unmanned drones.
Story at MSNBC


POLITICAL SCIENCE
A GOP revolt in the House: Can Republicans learn from history? | Charles Stewart
In a CBS News article on recent GOP House tumult, MIT political scientist Charles Stewart offers a historically-grounded analysis of the power of the position of House Speaker.
Story at CBS News
 

SCIENCE WRITING
MIT professor Thomas Levenson into science, nature
The Boston Globe interviews Thomas Levenson, CMSW faculty and Director of the Science Writing Program about his recent reading list, his favorite books, and the qualities of good science writing.
Story at The Boston Globe
 

WRITING
Junot Díaz Celebrates Neil Gaiman
MIT professor of writing Junot Díaz hosted a recent event to celebrate multi-genre writer Neil Gaiman, “one of the most important fantasists and comics writers ever.”
Story


POLITICAL SCIENCE
Forbes Magazine Interview with Kathleen Thelen
Bernie Sanders says Denmark is socialist. Forbes Magazine says it’s the most business-friendly country. Who’s right? MIT political scientist Kathleen Thelen and BU’s Cathie Jo Martin are interviewed to discuss a recent controversy regarding the political-economic structure of Denmark.
Story


ECONOMICS
Do Americans Expect Too Much From a College Degree? | David Autor
An article on the value of a college education cites work by MIT economist David Autor, which revealed a supply-and-demand phenomenon between wage growth and college completion rates.
Story
 

HEALTH ECONOMICS
What cures are we missing out on?

 

POVERTY ACTION LAB
For Government That Works, Call In the Auditors.
NYTs on research by J-PAL affiliates


HEALTH ECONOMICS
Amy Finkelstein on health care spending, randomized evaluations, & efficient care delivery

 

PHILOSOPHY
Would You Pull the Trolley Switch? Does it Matter? | Judith Thomson
This Atlantic article explores “the trolley problem,” a thought experiment in ethical philosophy whose name was coined by MIT philosopher Judith Thomson. “Thomson’s writing sparked so much interest in the philosophical community that a sub-discipline of ‘trolleyology’ emerged during the ‘70s and ‘80s.”
Story at The Atlantic
 

POLITICAL SCIENCE
A GOP revolt in the House: Can Republicans learn from history? | Charles Stewart III
In a CBS News article on recent GOP House tumult, MIT political scientist Charles Stewart offers a historically-grounded analysis of the power of the position of House Speaker.
Story
 

ECONOMICS
The Blanchard Touch
At the New York Times, Paul Krugman writes admiringly about the work done by fellow MIT economics veteran Olivier Blanchard, chief economist for the International Monetary Fund.
Story at New York Times


ECONOMICS
For Prescription Drug Makers, Price Increases Drive Revenue | Sara Fisher Ellison
Research by MIT economist Sara Fisher Ellison on healthcare market imperfections is cited in this long article on the rapidly climbing cost of prescription drugs in the US. The current structure “confuses incentives and dampens the normal economic dynamics,” Ellison explains.
Story at WSJ

 

 

 

Said and Done
Full November 2015 edition