Search Stories

MIT philosophy professor Kieran Setiya has a new book, “Midlife: A Philosophical Guide,” published by Princeton University Press. In it, he examines the problems of middle-aged happiness, reaches some unusual conclusions — he thinks we should embrace our regrets — and explores how philosophy can help people find peace of mind.

How philosophy can solve your midlife crisis

MIT professor Kieran Setiya’s book “Midlife” aims to smooth out the rocky road of middle age.

October 2, 2017

“I would say that a surprisingly large number of my students at MIT are juniors and seniors, and they often say to me, ‘Oh, I wish I had found out about anthropology sooner,’” anthropologist Graham Jones remarks. “And I say, ‘Oh the same thing happened to me in college.’ Not many people come to college knowing what anthropology is.”

Magic, a microcosm of modern culture

Anthropologist Graham Jones has turned a fascination with magic into a career.

September 25, 2017

“Before we can trust machines like autonomous vehicles, we have a number of challenges,” says professor Iyad Rahwan.

3 Questions: Iyad Rahwan on the “psychological roadblocks” facing self-driving cars

MIT Media Lab professor considers the trust gap between people and autonomous vehicles.

September 11, 2017

"I’ve been fortunate to have great graduate students from the day I got here, and I’m very proud of how they’ve done," Vipin Narang says.

Making sense of nuclear threats

MIT political scientist Vipin Narang explains the strategies of new nuclear powers.

September 11, 2017

“The question we’re asking is: Do retractions trigger, at an individual level, something like an infection mechanism, where the retracted author is being punished and discredited for being dishonest or just incompetent?” says Alessandro Bonatti, an associate professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

How retractions hurt scientists’ credibility

Study finds faulty research creates a significant drop in use of prior published work.

September 5, 2017

A new study finds that industrial parks in China have led to the growth of nearby “edge cities” that are hubs of diverse economic activity and residential life. The researchers looked at 110 industrial parks near eight cities in China, including the city of Wuhan, pictured here.

Industrial “edge cities” have helped China grow

Study: Commercial parks have boosted growth, created new urban centers.

August 17, 2017

A national study by MIT researchers provides one of the first in-depth looks at the characteristics of places that have adopted food recycling, revealing several new facts in the process.

Study: For food-waste recycling, policy is key

Successful programs aren’t limited to well-off towns with strong environmental movements.

August 17, 2017

Krystyn Van Vliet named associate provost

Engineer brings active interest in innovation to new role.

August 16, 2017

Researchers have found there is often a strong case for building relatively modest, incremental additions to water infrastructure in advanced countries, rather than expensive larger-scale projects that may be needed only rarely.

Case study suggests new approach to urban water supply

One drought remedy: Keep infrastructure fast, cheap, and under control.

August 14, 2017

A new study co-authored by an MIT economist reveals people have a haphazard approach to assessing inflation.

Intermittent attention, poor memory shape public perceptions of inflation

Consumers may tune in to prices when they need to — but recall data poorly, study finds.

July 31, 2017

“We find that patients who go to hospitals that rely more on skilled nursing facilities after discharge, as opposed to getting them healthy enough to return home, are substantially less likely to survive over the following year,” says Professor Joseph Doyle.

Hospitals that spend more on emergency care yield better outcomes

Study: Investing more in inpatient care relative to longer-term nursing facilities reduces mortality rates.

July 9, 2017

“If you work near someone, you’re more likely to have substantive conversations more frequently,” says doctoral student Matthew Claudel.

Proximity boosts collaboration on MIT campus

Study: Being near colleagues helps cross-disciplinary research on papers and patents.

July 9, 2017

"Eliminating high-occupancy vehicle restrictions led to substantially worse traffic," says economics professor Ben Olken. "That’s not shocking, but the magnitudes are just enormous."

A simple solution for terrible traffic

Study: Without HOV policies, urban traffic gets much, much worse.

July 6, 2017

A new study engaged preschool children in math games intended to help them grasp concepts of number and geometry, and in social games intended to help them cooperate and learn together.

Study: Preschoolers learn from math games — to a point

Games found to improve conceptual math skills, but gains may not carry over to primary school.

July 6, 2017

“We try to understand how the rules [for firms] should be written in a way that provides members incentives to do research and work hard, and doesn’t yield disproportionate power to an individual,” says economist Alessandro Bonatti.

Modeling innovation

Economist Alessandro Bonatti’s theoretical studies illuminate the behavior of firms and prices.

July 5, 2017

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology - On Campus and Around the world

Browse By

Topics

Departments

Centers, Labs, & Programs

Schools