Rough calculations
Sanjoy Mahajan’s new book, Street-Fighting Mathematics, lays out practical tools for educated guessing and down-and-dirty problem-solving
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The sound and the query
Why do questions take the form they do? An MIT linguist explains how the noises we make help to shape the sentences we speak.
Explained: Regression analysis
Sure, it’s a ubiquitous tool of scientific research, but what exactly is a regression, and what is its use?
In MIT visit, Miliband presses for Afghan peace deal
British foreign secretary uses Compton Lecture to urge Afghanistan’s government to reach out to insurgents.
3 Questions: David Miliband on Afghanistan’s future
Before delivering the Compton Lecture, Britain’s foreign secretary sat down with MIT News to discuss the state of the war in Afghanistan
3 Questions: Hunt Allcott on behavioral economics and the energy crisis
Can understanding human irrationality help solve our energy problems? An MIT researcher explains
Second opinion? Diagnosing doctors
All physicians can save lives. But great ones tend to save time and money, too, an MIT economist finds.
Banking on mobile money
A cellphone-based cash transfer system has changed the way Kenyans handle their finances. But what does it mean for Kenya's economy — and the developing world?
Understanding anti-immigrant sentiment
In new research experiment, MIT political scientist shows Americans’ views on immigration may be less based on economic self-interest than is commonly believed.
3 Questions: Steven Spear on Toyota’s troubles
With the vaunted Japanese automaker recalling millions of cars, the MIT senior lecturer explains what went wrong
Nobel laureate Krugman: ‘Dark age of macroeconomics’ is upon us
In Stata Center lecture, the Nobel Prize-winning former MIT professor warns that America is replaying its past economic policy mistakes.
Carl Kaysen, MIT professor emeritus and national security expert, dies at age 89
As an adviser under President Kennedy, he helped negotiate a key nuclear test ban treaty.
Democracy put to the test
MIT field experiment asks: What happens when people gain the ability to govern themselves?