Oliver G. Selfridge ’45
Oliver G. Selfridge ’45, an innovator in early computer science and artificial intelligence, died Wednesday in Boston. He was 82.
College Expenses Outpacing Incomes
The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
MIT Responds to Students; MBTA Drops Federal Case
<i>This occasional feature will follow up on news stories long past their prime. In this edition: how MIT fired, and un-fired, a women’s support administrator; and whatever happened to that MBTA lawsuit?</i>
OLPC Patent Infringement Suit Dismissed by Middlesex Judge
A Middlesex Superior Court Judge has dismissed the case against the One Laptop Per Child Foundation by Nigerian company Lagos Analysis Corporation (Lancor). Lancor claimed that the OLPC Foundation’s XO laptop copied the design of Lancor’s patented Konyin multi-lingual keyboards. The suit asked for $20 million in damages.
As Nanoparticle Use Rises, So Does Concern Over Safety, Regulations
It sounds like a plot straight out of a science fiction novel by Michael Crichton. Toiletry companies formulate new cutting-edge creams and lotions that contain tiny components designed to work more effectively. But those minuscule building blocks have an unexpected drawback: the ability to penetrate the skin, swarm through the body and overwhelm organs like the liver.
Putin Questioned as Russian Economy Falters
Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin spent much of his annual question-and-answer televised exchange on Thursday seeking to reassure Russians that the effects of the global economic crisis on the country would be minimal. He also denied increased speculation that he might seek an early return to the presidency.
Shorts (left)
Canada’s parliamentary opposition reacted with outrage on Thursday after Prime Minister Stephen Harper shut down the legislature until Jan. 26, seeking to forestall a no-confidence vote that he was sure to lose and, possibly, provoking a constitutional crisis.
New Economic Bailout Plans May Focus on Homeowners
After pouring vast amounts of money into financial institutions of almost every type, and having little to show for it, the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve are suddenly taking a new look at ordinary homeowners.
In Mumbai, More Evidence Links Terrorists to Pakistan
Fresh evidence unearthed Thursday by investigators in India indicated that the Mumbai attacks were stage-managed from at least two Pakistani cities by top leaders of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Shorts (right)
To get elected in Alaska to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat sometimes requires not acting like one. Talk up drilling for oil in wildlife refuges. Talk up gun rights. Insist that those liberals who control Congress will never push you around.
Ordering Up a Sunny Day
Every now and then a story about a novel invention that modifies the weather becomes an attention grabbing flash in the pan with the popular media. Wouldn’t it be great if you could order up sunny days every weekend and have it rain only at night? Florida homeowners would love nothing more than to set up a huge fan along the coast to blow hurricanes out to sea. Most attention in the arena of weather modification has been to prevent severe weather events, make it rain by seeding clouds, and reverse the effects of global climate change. Unfortunately, despite the rosy promises any method holds, there are often problems with feasibility, cost, scaling, reproducibility, and just plain lack of thought. For now, we mere mortals just have to deal with the weather or move to San Diego.
Obama Moves Fast to Fill Top Administration Posts
The call summoning him was somewhat cryptic. Only after Gen. James L. Jones showed up in a hotel suite for a one-on-one meeting with Barack Obama did it become clear what was going on.
BOOK REVIEW The Latest (and Earliest) From Kerouac and Burroughs
If you laughed along with Sal Paradise in On The Road, feared the conniving Dr. Benway in Naked Lunch, and saluted the iconoclastic verses of America, then you’re undeniably a Beatnik. While Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg are arguably the three most important authors of the Beat Generation, they are also our default historians of a transitional time period in the United States. Their uninhibited, jazz-inspired prose revealed a candid portrait of a class of people who embraced life in growing cities and welcomed experimentation.
Boston Blazers Lacrosse Signs Veteran Forward Dan Dawson
The Boston Blazers professional indoor lacrosse team announced the signing of Dan Dawson, a multitalented, dynamic offensive player who consistently ranks among the top scorers in the National Lacrosse League.
Sports Shorts
Salem State College’s balanced attack put five players in double figures and the Vikings’ full-court press plagued MIT throughout the contest as the home team rallied past the Engineers, 75-65, despite another phenomenal effort from James M. “Jimmy” Bartolotta ’09, who played his third consecutive game with at least 30 points on Tuesday night.
