Speaking of transporters, which we have been:The real tribute to James "Scotty" Doohan, 39 light-years after he first saved the USS Enterprise's heinie (and did it many times over), is that it's now almost impossible to have a boyfriend or husband who can't do a somewhat reasonable impression of Doohan's famously stressed-out burr: "We've got nuh powrrrr, Cap'n!" Or "She cannuh take much moor."The Washington Post offers a nice appreciation of James Doohan, best and perhaps only known for his portrayal of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott on Star Trek, who died yesterday. Among his many...

My wife points me to a very interesting post at Geeky Mom on higher education and social software.Books like Everything Bad is Good for You and What Video Games have to teach us about learning and literacy point to a different kind of learning, learning that is more active and hyperlinked and most importantly, controlled by the learner. Which brings me to blogging (or pretty much any technology where one must relinquish control to the students). Blogging allows students to have more control over their own learning. They get to decide (within parameters) what to read, what to write about,...

Battlepanda recently posted on Nozick's "Experience Machine" and the hypothetical of Star Trek holodecks. In the comments section, I learn that she and I share the same position on transporters: if I lived in the Star Trek universe I'd be one of those sad sacks who still putter around earth growing stuff that can be made in a replicator anyhow. To me, it's tantemont to suicide.I've had many a geekfest discussion on the subject, and I stand firmly on the side of those who believe that the transporter kills a person (A) and creates a copy of that person (B). That copy's sense of herself is...

Eric Reeves is guest posting on Darfur at TNR's blog. The Editor's note: His contributions will add up to a sort of crash-course on the Darfur genocide--moving from posts today on the genocide's history, to posts in coming days on the inadequate response of the international community, to posts toward the end of the week on what it would realistically take to bring the genocide to a halt.I may occasionally teach a course on genocide, but Reeves is the real deal. I'm looking forward to his later posts in particular, as "solutions" to Darfur, let alone genocides in general, are usually either...

In the comments section of Bruce Jentleson's recent post at America Abroad, 10 Days After London, commentator Daniel A. Greenbaum asks:I am curious what about the war in Iraq caused the radicalization? Saddem has killed far more Arabs that than this war has. Saddem invaded both Iran and Kuwait. This question is not meant to be ironic but genuine.Two (related) possible answers:First, identity and in-group bias have interesting effects. Arabs and Muslims who might normally see Hussein's regime as evil may also react quite strongly to images of those they identify with being killed in an...

Does anyone actually enjoy grading? I admit that I get something of a kick out of reading a smart, elegant essay or exam. I particularly enjoy essays that show a flash of brilliance, even if their mechanics leave a bit to be desired. I also recognize the importance of grading: I really do try to give each student's work the attention it deserves, and to provide constructive feedback that will help them improve in their writing and critical-thinking skills. I didn't mind grading half as much when I was teaching small seminars and I would meet with my students to discuss each paper with...

Cross posted on my blog. Most of the world's major media are reporting that the 7/7 London bombers were suicide terrorists, willing to give up their life for their cause.I've watched CNN and MSNBC enough the past week to know that this "fact" is now part of the conventional wisdom. Suicide is repeatedly used as an adjective to describe the bombers. Say it over and over and over...and it becomes truth. Right?What if it is wrong? Apparently, there is pretty good reason to be skeptical that the four alleged bombers intended to commit suicide. Two of the men had pregnant wives, meaning they...

This afternoon I was interviewed by ARD German television for a news spot of some kind. Like most news organizations and savvy observers, they expect the CDU to win the German elections in the fall, which will make Angela Merkel the new German chancellor. The folks from ARD wanted to know whether I thought that Merkel's election would change things in US-German relations; I told them no, because the issues that have cropped up in US-German relations have more to do with a general reconfiguration of transatlantic relations in the past couple of decades than they have to do with any particular...