An anonymous reader writes, "Last month the New Yorker ran the article 'Manifold Destiny', by Sylvia Nasar, author of 'A Beautiful Mind.' Now a renowned Harvard mathematics professor, Dr. Shing-Tung Yau, is claiming the article defamed him. His attorney wrote the New Yorker a letter (PDF) threatening that Yau will have 'no choice but to consider other options' if Nasar, her co-author, and the New Yorker fail to undo the damage done."
Read the
full post here.
How does the brain produce a thought? Or experience a unitary, whole, synchronized perception of a cup of coffee? For neuroscientists, this is the Mount Everest of questions. We have a look at one possible theory (that a thought is like lots of little neurons singing together in harmony) and then visit neurologist Christof Koch to ask: who conducts the brain chorus? Koch thinks he knows, and he tells us of the cutting edge work of one of science’' great thinkers, Francis Crick...an inquiry which lasted until his dying day.
The
Radio Lab story and podcast are here. See also:
Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul
EVENT SUMMARY: In 2001, Congress enacted legislation to phase-out the estate tax by 2010. The repeal is effective for only one year, however. The estate tax—referred to by some as the "death tax"—affects the wealthiest 2 percent of the population and represents a progressive source of federal revenue and a key incentive for charitable giving. Prior to 2001, the movement to repeal the tax was a primary focus of reform debates, but its elimination seemed highly unlikely. How, then, did the legislation suddenly sail through Congress? And how did so many Americans become opposed to a tax that would never affect them? At this Brookings briefing, Yale professors Michael J. Graetz and Ian Shapiro will discuss the history of the estate tax and analyze the reform movement through the philosophical arguments that framed it and the interests that drove it. They are the authors of a new book, Death by a Thousand Cuts (Princeton University Press, 2005), that is based on extensive interviews conducted with the relevant policymakers and political players. Following their presentation, a panel will discuss their findings and offer insights into the broader implications of the tax reform debate.
See the transcript for that event here.
Sylvia Nasar's A beautiful mind (Simon and Schuster, 1998) explores some of these questions, and at its best provides considerable enlightenment. Its greatest success is a discussion of Nash's "illness": the treatments he had to endure, the support of his friends, his ambivalence to his return to "rationality". Nasar went to considerable lengths to find out what happened to Nash during this period; her discussion is sensitive and thought-provoking. Her style is reportorial rather than analytical, but she raises many significant issues. Nasar also does a good job of exposing both the Econometric Society's handling of Nash's nomination to be a Fellow, and the machinations behind the award of his Nobel prize. If I interpret footnote 101 in Chapter 48 correctly, the credit for unmasking the Nobel committee is due to a reporter for a Swedish newspaper, but Nasar conducted many additional interviews and learned a lot more about what happened.
Read the
full review here.
, The People Vs. Larry Flynt
