People Illogically Keep Options Open, Says MIT Professor Ariely
The next time you’re juggling options which friend to see, which house to buy, which career to pursue — try asking yourself this question: What would Xiang Yu do?
FCC May Limit Companies’ Slowing of Web Traffic
The head of the Federal Communications Commission and other senior officials said Monday that they were considering taking steps to discourage cable and telephone companies from discriminating against content providers as the broadband companies go about managing heavy Internet traffic that they say is clogging their networks.
Cancer Bldg. Groundbreaking Scheduled
Groundbreaking will be held on Friday, Mar. 7, 2008 for a new building to house the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, which will bring together scientists from the Center for Cancer Research and other research groups. The building will be located on Main Street between Building 32 and Building 68 and will be completed in December 2010.
A Cappella Groups Agree On Studio
One year after a contentious debate about the terms offered by the Logarhythms for sharing their recording studio, MIT a cappella groups have agreed to another two years under the same terms as before. Campus a cappella groups have found other ways to obtain more recording time, including building their own makeshift studios and using off-campus studios.
Shorts (left)
YouTube was back up two hours after Pakistan, in an act of information provincialism, inadvertently made the video-sharing site inaccessible to users around the world Sunday afternoon.
Obama’s Expanding Coalition Picks Up Steam
In the past two months, Sen. Barack Obama has built a commanding coalition among Democratic voters, with especially strong support among men, and is now viewed by most Democrats as the candidate best able to beat Sen. John McCain, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
Clinton Campaign Starts 5-Point Attack on Obama
After struggling for months to dent Sen. Barack Obama’s candidacy, the campaign of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is unleashing what one Clinton aide called a “kitchen sink” fusillade against Obama, pursuing five lines of attack since Saturday in hopes of stopping his political momentum.
Pfizer to Pull Drug Ads Featuring Artificial Heart Pioneer
Under criticism that its ads are misleading, Pfizer said Monday it would cancel a long-running advertising campaign using the artificial heart pioneer Dr. Robert Jarvik as a spokesman for its cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Survey Finds American Religious Life Fluid and Diverse
More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or profess no religion, according to a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Shorts (right)
Ford Motor Co. is applying the hard sell these days — piling on incentives, doling out marketing DVDs and brochures, and making offers it hopes are too good to pass up.
Old Man Winter Hangs On
The snow that impacted the Northeast last Friday officially left 8.9 inches in the Boston area, nearly beating the previous daily record of 9.0 inches set in 1893. A liquid equivalent of 0.75 inches fell, which means that the average snowfall ratio was 12:1 (12 inches of snow to one inch of rain): fairly typical of snowstorms in this area. Although it may not seem like it, the storm pushed Boston’s seasonal snowfall total to 50 inches, well ahead of an average year’s pace.
Researchers Outline Sources Of Damage to Coral Reefs
Researchers who studied a string of Pacific Ocean atolls are painting the first detailed picture of pristine coral reefs and how they can be disrupted by people — particularly, they said, by fishing.
Financial Aid Leaves Out Middle Class
The article about the Senate requesting MIT’s information on endowment and tuition on Friday, Feb 22, makes things sound reasonable enough, but it’s glossing over some of the ugly facts underlying MIT’s financial aid policies.
Letters to the Editor
If I were to say that the NFL’s governing body is smarter than the administrations of our nation’s wealthiest universities, would you believe me? People may look in wonder at the nature of the statement, asking themselves “How could a handful of individuals in the sports business outwit those that are responsible for educating our nation’s brightest students?” The answer is simple: they understand that their own success depends on the success of the group.
Engineers Finish Third at New England Div. III Championships
The men’s and women’s track and field team came through across the board at the New England Division III Indoor championships this past weekend, as both teams took third place. On the women’s side, the finish was the best in MIT’s history.
Holbrook, Jacobi Win Titles as MIT Finishes Second at NEWMACs
With MIT and Springfield College separated by a mere 4.5 points heading into the final event of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference women’s swimming and diving championships on Sunday night, both teams knew at the start of the 400-yard freestyle relay that a first-place finish would almost guarantee victory. A mere 3:34.81 later, Springfield’s Moira Price touched the wall first, beating out MIT’s top team by just over two seconds to give Springfield its eighth consecutive NEWMAC title.
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Glenn J. Geesman ’09
Glenn J. Geesman ’09 qualified for the Division III national tournament after bringing down the house with five pins to win the New England College Conference Wrestling Association heavyweight championship this past weekend. After delivering a 6-1 performance in the 285-pound weight class, including five wins by fall that give him 21 pins for the season, Geesman will take his nationwide status to Cedar Rapids, Iowa in two weeks. The junior sensation ranks in the top three in the country in pins in all divisions, while sporting an impressive 31-5 record.
Through My Eyes
Murder. Genocide. Political unrest. Displacement from homes. Here at MIT, most of us are fortunate to say we have never experienced these griefs first hand. Most of us are even so fortunate to say that we do not have close friends or loved ones who have experienced these horrors first hand in Sudan, Iraq, Haiti, or even in more stable locations like Kenya and South Africa. However, with MIT’s diverse student body, growing focus on international development, and increasing number of students traveling to countries all around the world, events occurring in locations hundreds of miles away are coming one step closer to our lives and our hearts.
It’s a Big, Big World
I returned to the United States with a penchant for tea. On late Buenos Aires afternoons, I’d join my family for mate, an Argentinian drink made from a holly-like herb. Each member of the house would take turns drinking the hot water infused with herbs from a hollowed gourd using a metal straw. After coming home from classes in Bangalore, my host mother would ask me if I’d like to “take tea” and would proceed to create her chai masala concoction of tea, milk, and spoonfuls of sugar. In Beijing and Shanghai, my hosts would serve tea after meals. While waiting for the tea to brew, they’d douse the cups with hot water to pre-wash, pre-heat, and pre-rinse them. Throughout our hour long conversations, they’d graciously pour and refill my mini teacup with fresh tea.
Brouhaha Rhythm
People have declared for ages that, for a man to be a proper boyfriend, he has to be willing to watch an occasional chick flick with his significant other from time to time. As a point of policy, I’ve responded by proclaiming how wonderful it is to be dating a woman who doesn’t even like chick flicks, thereby negating the cookie-cutter advice. Yet I’ve recently come to the horrifying realization that I may be gravitating more towards the genre than I thought I would.
