The newspaper recently ran a story about a computer traffic model developed by MIT traffic researchers that is being used by the builders of the Central Artery/Third Tunnel project to find trouble spots that may need redesigning.
Sociology
Photo by Paulo O (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash
The danger of underplaying world’s weightiest problem
The books we read as children stay with us all our lives. Among the books in my parents’ library were the popular works of Hendrick Willem van Loon, published in the years between the World Wars. Those books made an indelible impression on my mind.
Photo by Jongsun Lee on Unsplash
Seeing the animal in ourselves
For the past several weeks tree swallows have been nesting in bluebird boxes on conservation land nearby. The boxes weren’t meant for swallows, but — well, its spring and first come, first serve.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
A vanished breed
Whatever became of the Mad Scientist? If you think there have been fewer Mad Scientists in the movies lately, you are right.
The Oxford English Dictionary • Photo by Dan (CC BY 2.0)
Whence the nerd?
When the 3rd revised edition of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary appeared back in 1961 we saw in the new words a mirror of ourselves. Breezeway. Split-level. Fringe benefit. Airlift. Beatnik. Zen. Den mother. No-show. Astronaut.