School of Humanities Arts and Social Sciences

Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with Fast Company reporter Alex Pasternack about her memoir, “The Empathy Diaries” and the role of technology in society.

Writing for The Atlantic, Professor of the practice of the humanities Alan Lightman explores the concept of miracles or “supernatural events” and notes that “some recent proposals in physics reveal that believers and nonbelievers may have more in common than they think.”

Writing for The New York Times, Prof. Amy Finkelstein emphasizes the effectiveness of randomized clinical trials. Finkelstein notes that she hopes “truly rigorous testing of social policy will become as commonplace as it is for new vaccines. That would help ensure that government services are delivered as effectively and efficiently as possible.”

Writing for Time, Prof. Sherry Turkle explores whether the sense of displacement caused by the pandemic will allow people and the U.S. the opportunity to see “our country anew.” Turkle writes, “I came to a new state of mind because I could see my country anew. And although our country was at war with itself, I felt a deeper connection with other people who were also seeing anew. On the Zoom screens of the pandemic, I found the exhilaration of new connections.”

Prof. Alan Lightman’s new book, “Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings” tackles “big questions like the origin of the universe and the nature of consciousness, always in an entertaining and easily digestible way,” writes Andrew Crumey for The Wall Street Journal.

Graduate student Crystal Lee speaks with Slate reporter Rebecca Onion about a new study that illustrates how social media users have used data visualizations to argue against public health measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. “The biggest point of diversion is the focus on different metrics—on deaths, rather than cases,” says Lee. “They focus on a very small slice of the data. And even then, they contest metrics in ways I think are fundamentally misleading.”

Graduate student Caroline White-Nockleby discusses her new white paper that explores the regional impact of the decline in coal production. “Employment in the [coal] industry has decreased from around 3,800 jobs to around 2,800 direct jobs in the past five years,” says White-Nockleby .”They also have a big role in the tax base. Coal companies pay taxes on the value of the coal itself that’s underground, and they also pay property taxes.”

Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with Dave Davies of Fresh Air about her new book and how her childhood experiences helped shape her work.

Profs. Daron Acemoglu and David Autor speak with New York Times columnist Kevin Roose about the impact of automation on the labor market. “A lot of professional work combines some element of routine information processing with an element of judgment and discretion,” says Autor. “That’s where software has always fallen short. But with A.I., that type of work is much more in the kill path.”

Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. M. Taylor Fravel explores how Chinese and Indian forces have disengaged and created a buffer zone at Pangong Lake on their disputed border. “The disengagement and buffer zone creates space for further talks,” writes Fravel. “In the short term, discussions have already begun to address disengagement in other “friction areas” such as Gorga/Hot Springs. Longer term, political talks about the border may be possible if a complete de-escalation occurs.”

Prof. Sherry Turkle’s new book, “The Empathy Diaries,” is a “beautiful book,” writes Dwight Garner for The New York Times. “It has gravity and grace; it’s as inexorable as a fable; it drills down into the things that make a life; it works to make sense of existence on both its coded and transparent levels; it feels like an instant classic of the genre.”

Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with Wired reporter Arielle Pardes about her new memoir, “The Empathy Diaries,” her views on screen time during the pandemic and finding connections during a time of physical distancing. “When people have great intent, and great desire, and full attention to turn this medium into something extraordinary, they can,” says Turkle of the internet. “The trouble is, we’re more likely to use it to make some money, to scrape some data, to turn it into something other than its highest form.”

In her new memoir, “The Empathy Diaries,” Prof. Sherry Turkle takes readers on her journey from “a working-class Brooklyn childhood to tenured professor at M.I.T.,” writes Casey Schwartz for The New York Times. “The title of her new book reflects one of Turkle’s preoccupations,” notes Schwartz. “As we disappear into our lives onscreen, spending less time in reflective solitude, and less time in real-life conversation with others, empathy, as Turkle sees it, is one of the casualties.” 

In an article for The Boston Globe, President Emerita Susan Hockfield and Prof. Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy, highlight alumnus George Shultz’s PhD ’49 visionary approach to tackling climate change and the development of new technologies. "George was masterful in bringing together people and ideas from disparate disciplines to find new kinds of solutions to daunting political, technological, and organizational problems," they write. "He created communities of shared concern, which he recognized was the way to get things done and to have lots of fun doing so, frequently reminding us, 'If you want to land together, you better take off together.'"

CNN reporter Jacque Smith highlights Prof. Amy Moran-Thomas’ work calling attention to how pulse oximeters can overestimate oxygen levels in darker-skinned patients.