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| Grain & Chaff
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| Lynn Margulis (Ben Barnhart photo) |
Fearless 50
Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor
in the Department of Geosciences, is among the "The Fearless
50," America's 50 greatest innovators over the age of 50,
as chosen by AARP: The Magazine, published by the American Association
for Retired People. The cover story of the magazine's March/April
issue, the Fearless 50 list also includes Jimmy Carter, Bob Dylan,
Norma Kamali, David Mamet, Toni Morrison, Robert Rauschenberg,
Robert Redford, Philip Roth, Steven Spielberg, Ted Turner and
Bob Woodward.
The magazine cites Margulis for her "radical
take on Darwin's 'survival of the fittest' hypothesis," a
theory called endosymbiosis that argues "that cooperation,
not competition, is what advances evolution ..." For her
part, the National Medal of Science recipient called her inclusion
on the list "a sign that some properly mature citizens recognize
that science is a cultural activity. Science, as a way of knowing,
demands evidence," she adds, "it intrinsically questions
authority. My kind of science, which studies the early evolution
of life and its effects on our third planet, tends to be much
more attentive to the natural than to the social world."
From the bookshelf
The Jeffery Amherst Bookshop is hosting a discussion
and book signing for "A House Divided: The Antebellum Slavery
Debates in America, 1776-1865," edited by English professor
Mason Lowance, on Saturday, March 8 at 1 p.m. The volume brings
together the most important abolitionist and pro-slavery documents
written in the U.S. between the American Revolution and the Civil
War. The store is located at 55 South Pleasant St.
Green party
The Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association,
Inc. (MNLA) presented an Environmental Leadership Award to professor
Allen V. Barker of the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at
its business meeting on Feb. 6. The award recognizes individuals
who have consistently provided informed leadership in dealing
with complex environmental issues. Barker was recognized as a
mentor to young horticulturists who have studied with him. The
association gave Barker a plaque and will plant a tree in his
name at a site that he will select. Barker says that he wants
a white oak planted at Bowditch Hall, where he has worked for
38 years. Other recipients of the award were Sen. Bruce E. Tarr
(R-Gloucester) and Rep. Michael J. Rod-rigues (D-Westport).
Best paper
Master's of Regional Planning student J. B. Mack
was recently honored by the American Planning Association for
writing the best graduate transportation planning paper. The award
includes $600 and an opportunity to publish the paper in one of
APA's publications. His paper, entitled "Reframing the Spatial
Mismatch Debate: A Sustainability Perspective," considers
a theory that the segregated living patterns of metropolitan areas
and the suburbanization of jobs have created employment retention
problems for urban minorities. Mack's paper looks at the ongoing
debate and its policy implications from a sustainability theory
perspective, arguing that the integrative qualities of sus-tainability
theory that account for the inherent equity, environmental, and
economic problems associated with a decentralized and segregated
city, can challenge the way spatial mismatch is researched, and
guide policymakers in formulating better policy.
Truth telling
Psychology professor Robert Feldman, who studies
lying, was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story (March 3) on chronic
liars and a US Magazine (March 10) piece on the failed relationships
resulting from reality dating shows on television.
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