Prof. Nick Montfort speaks with Vice reporter Daniel Oberhaus about Synchrony, a demoparty he founded that allows computer programmers to showcase their artistic inventions. “One of the things I really like about the demoscene is that we don't really have a tradition of it in North America,” says Montfort. “That means we have the opportunity to make something up, something that's inviting, diverse, and different.”
Writing for WBUR, Prof. Marcia Bartusiak examines the significance of astronomers capturing the first image of a black hole, and how information gathered from studying black holes could provide insights into the origins of our universe. “Continued efforts like the Event Horizon Telescope project will provide astronomy’s next steps in separating fantasy from reality,” writes Bartusiak.
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Thomas Levenson argues that fears about China’s potential to dominate 5G demonstrate the need for the U.S. to invest in scientific research. “If our scientific dominance ends, it will not be because of Chinese perfidy, but because the US chose to surrender its commanding role in the search for knowledge,” writes Levenson.
Writing for Bloomberg, Faye Flam highlights Prof. Alan Lightman’s book “In Praise of Wasting Time.” Flam notes that in the book, Lightman looks “at both psychological studies and life histories of famous scientists and writers, and concluded that taking downtime, or play time, is essential to divergent thinking.”
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Boston Globe about the harm posed by casting doubt on the threat posed by climate change. “It falls both to the scientists at work in areas that have fallen prey to controversy — and the news media that covers both science and politics,” argues Levenson, “to make it clear what is truly known, and why it matters.”
Prof. Eric Klopfer speaks with Jane Clayson of WBUR’s On Point about whether parents should be concerned about the growing popularity of the videogame “Fortnite.” Klopfer says he feels the game has some educational value, noting that the game presents kids with the opportunity to partake in, “solving open-ended problems, communicating around complex issues [and] trying to work within systems.”
Prof. Ethan Zuckerman, director of the MIT Center for Civic Media, speaks with Vox about the potential cognitive impact of using new digital technologies. “The interesting question is what are the real problems and how do we address them and make them better?” says Zuckerman. “How would you mitigate those harmful effects? What are the positive effects we want out of it?”
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Boston Globe about how to reduce gun violence, highlighting research showing that gun owners and their friends and family are most likely to be the victims of gun violence. “Many victims could be saved if it weren’t so easy to bring death upon themselves in their moments of greatest distress,” writes Levenson.
Boston Globe reporter Michael Levenson writes that Profs. Amy Finkelstein and Lisa Parks have been selected as recipients of the MacArthur “genius grant.” Finkelstein notes that the award will allow her to take more risks with her research, while Parks plans to use the award to “strengthen MIT’s Global Media Technologies and Cultures Lab and deepen the university’s ties to Africa, where she does research,” Levenson explains.
Profs. Amy Finkelstein and Lisa Parks have been named MacArthur Fellows, reports Joe Barrett for The Wall Street Journal. Barett explains that Finkelstein “conducts studies in the economics of health care; among her findings is that Medicaid expansion increases self-reported health and financial security, but also increases use of the emergency room and has no significant impact on many measures of physical health.”
In an article for The Washington Post, Prof. Alan Lightman writes about the importance of wasting time. “Our hyperconnected lifestyle, without downtime, threatens our ‘inner selves,’” Lightman explains. “My inner self is that part of me that imagines, that dreams, that explores, that is constantly questioning who I am and what is important to me.”
Prof. Thomas Levenson participates in a WGBH Living Lab Radio panel discussion about science fiction. “Science fiction is simply literature, Levenson explains. “It might be the leading stream of fiction because we live in a world that is so conditioned by all the ways that both deep scientific ideas and their applications in everyday technology change the way we do everything.”
In an article for The Boston Globe, Prof. Thomas Levenson reviews David Quammen’s new book, “The Tangled Tree.” Levenson writes that the book is, “much more than a report on some cool new scientific facts. It is, rather, a source of wonder.”
Writing for WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Amy Carleton, a lecturer in Comparative Media Studies/Writing, highlights three novels that vividly portray the immigrant experience. Carleton writes that the novels are about, “searching and finding, belonging and wanting — the things that define our human experience regardless of our point of origin.”
Prof. Alan Lightman reviews Adam Frank’s new book, “Light of the Stars,” for The New York Times. Lightman writes that Frank suggests, “we can strengthen our resolve to kick our bad environmental habits by viewing our terrestrial civilization from a cosmic perspective.”