There is a lot of debate on whether Wednesday’s computer issues that shut down the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street Journal, and United Airlines were just a very strange coincidence (very strange) or a deliberate cyber attack. This isn’t the first possible cyber attack on the United States this year. Heck, it’s not […] … learn more→

Where are active spacecrafts now, and when will we hear back? There are about 25 active space probes sending data to us from space — “active” meaning able to transmit data back to Earth. Many of these probes are en route, meaning within several years we’ll be receiving more messages as the crafts reach their […] … learn more→

Life would be grand if we only did what our fleeting hearts wanted to do, each moment of the day. Unfortunately, the laundry, taxes and difficult conversations would never get done. The best books would never be written. All the achievements of humankind would be imagined, not realized. So what should we do if we’re […] … learn more→

Its 8.30 in the morning and I’m just back from the school run. I have five and a half hours before I pick up my son. How to make the best use of that time? The eternal dilemma! As a single parent this time is precious. I have a long To-Do list, with everything ranging […] … learn more→

I’ve written before of the fear that now pervades the job of a college professor. Say something that can be remotely be considered criticism, and you’re fired. Say something that students find offensive, and you risk complaints that could lead to termination. They’re simple rules, but it’s hard to claim there’s academic freedom or freedom […] … learn more→

From coast to coast, elementary and high school libraries are being neglected, defunded, repurposed, abandoned and closed. The kindest thing that can be said about this is that it’s curious; the more accurate explanation is that it’s just wrong and very foolish. A 2011 survey conducted with my graduate students of 25 separate statewide studies […] … learn more→

You know the feeling. You have downloaded the free game Candy Crush and you run out of lives on the highest level you have ever achieved. The game offers to let you keep playing only if you pay for more lives and you say yes because you are addicted. These “freemium” apps are mobile games […] … learn more→

Among the dozens of policy changes embedded in the budget signed on Sunday by Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin were measures to strike the definition of tenure appointments; insert detailed termination procedures for tenured faculty members in the event of unspecified \”budget or program decisions\”; subordinate the faculty to chancellors and the largely governor-appointed Board […] … learn more→

Julius Caesar and Otello (the version of Othello by Giuseppe Verdi and his librettist Arrigo Boito): These are the texts that framed the final remarks of federal Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted last month of the Boston Marathon killings. The Tsarnaev case moved Judge O’Toole to reach for […] … learn more→

I’ve certainly had a negative thing or two to say about community colleges, but I have an unfair advantage: I worked with such a college for over a decade, so I know, in detail, exactly what goes on there behind the scenes. I’ve pulled back the curtain on a few colleges, and shown that most […] … learn more→