Christopher X J. Jensen
Associate Professor, Pratt Institute

Interesting experiment in Q&A forum for Biologists

Posted 07 May 2012 / 0

Stack Exchange Biology “Why is selfishness the ‘obvious’ strategy?” I tend to favor these sorts of “open to everyone” forums, but it is interesting to see what a general audience makes out of questions like this one… if anyone expects to get a simple, easy answer to such broad-ranging questions, those people will be disappointed.

Princeton Workshop explores the many scales at which moral sentiments foster cooperation

Posted 07 May 2012 / 0

Princeton University Center for Human Values “Workshop: Positive Models and Normative Ideals of Social Cooperation“

International Studies Association meeting assesses Pinker’s “Angels”

Posted 05 May 2012 / 0

Evolutionary Politics “Pinker, Politics, and the Decline of Violence: Roundtable on ‘The Better Angels of Our Nature’“ What I find particularly interesting about this topic is the question of whether or not our cultural evolution away from conflict and towards cooperation has in turn affected our biological evolution. Sure, both cooperating and defecting (in this Read More

Harvard and M.I.T. just can’t stay out of the free online course game

Posted 02 May 2012 / 0

All Things Considered “Explosion In Free Online Classes May Change Course Of Higher Education” What I think is very interesting about these stories, which are more and more prevalent, is their emphasis on the economic rationales for “getting into the online education business”. But what it seems to me that these elite universities are really Read More

Is some science too dangerous to freely publish?

Posted 02 May 2012 / 0

All Things Considered “First Of Controversial Bird Flu Studies Is Published” It’s not just the atomic bomb anymore: molecular biology is the new science with apocalyptic potential.

Is competition for scarce research support sullying science?

Posted 18 Apr 2012 / 0

The New York Times “A Sharp Rise in Retractions Prompts Calls for Reform“

Free online courses from top universities continue to proliferate

Posted 18 Apr 2012 / 0

Marketplace “Top universities join forces online“

Kenneth Klemow suggests that we stick to sustainability science and avoid selective stories

Posted 18 Apr 2012 / 0

Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment “Science and energy policy: leave the cherries alone” These are sane words. The power of anecdote has become increasingly problematic in the debate over whether hydraulic fracturing should be pursued, but at the same time scientists need not park their values at the door when they express policy preferences Read More

Robert R. Sokal, prominent biostatistician, dies at 86

Posted 10 Apr 2012 / 0

Wikipedia “Robert R. Sokal” Stony Brook University Department of Ecology & Evolution Emeritus Page Bob Sokal was already a Professor Emeritus by the time I arrived at Stony Brook, but through his book Biometry (and his long-time collaboration with Jim Rohlf), Sokal’s legacy was always apparent. I was lucky to be a Stony Brook student Read More

Universal Grammar and the curious case of missing recursion

Posted 02 Apr 2012 / 0

The Chronicle of Higher Education “Angry Words” What I find interesting about this debate beyond its specific application to linguistics is the question it raises about aboriginal cultures. I have always wondered about the validity of studying hunter-gatherer societies under the assumption that they represent a window into the ways of our ancient ancestors. Such Read More