The paperless trend has taken another leap forward at Stanford: doctoral dissertations, the lengthy piles of paper that culminate the work of Stanford PhD students, will now be published online.

Unsurprisingly, Stanford mega-start-up Google is behind the new idea, which makes Stanford "the first university to take the whole dissertation approval and publishing process electronic." The new paperless plan also saves money (printing and distribution costs), space (our library is only so big), and makes it much simpler to view and read published dissertations.

The only problem: nobody really wants to read dissertations.

A large group of students received emails last night from the a new Objectivists group at Stanford. About half of the people I've spoken to received the emails - none of us signed up for a list.

The email, signed by Matt Cook and Dakin Sloss, pointed readers to an article by the two here: http://stanfordreview.org/article/the-man-made-myth. The article claims that global warming is a hoax. Specifically, the two argue in the article that an 800-year timelag in some paleo-climate data indicates that CO2 does not drive climate change, but rather that climate change drive CO2 concentrations.

There was a considerable amount of pseudo-science babble in the pair's article, which is below. I'm not going to argue about the whole "CO2 doesn't drive climate change" crap. For that, you can go talk to any of the professors in the Stanford faculty, specifically Ken Caldeira, Mark Jacobson or Steve Schneider.

It's worth, however, looking at how the pair tried to make their argument, because it tells us something about what they're thinking.

This summer I read a book that shocked me. It made me realize that I, an intelligent female, had put myself in situations where I could have been date-raped. And before I read the book, I never even realized how close I could have been. Now perhaps I'm slightly naive- but honestly, until it happens to you or your friend, who isn't?
I was lucky- I wasn’t one of the unfortunate women who said no and were ignored. But I want to share with everyone “The mindset of justification” that can lead some men into date-rape. Without remorse. Without regret. Without recognizing that they did anything wrong.

The following are sections of the book I read- How Dangerous Men Think. This is from the date rape chapter. (Note- the book was written in Australia, so some of the words are a bit foreign- like lift instead of elevator)

“I remember interviewing a young guy under arrest for the rape of a young woman he had met at a nightclub earlier in the evening. To my surprise he was quite happy to talk about the events of the evening, even to the point of admitting that he had had intercourse with the young woman in question when it was quite clear that she didn't want him to. In an attempt to defend his actions he told me he had been invited back to the woman's place, that he had been buying her drinks during the night and had even paid for the taxi. He added that they had already had sex once that evening and that about an hour later he wanted to do it again, but she wasn't so keen. He told me she "wasn't so keen" because she was yelling and screaming at him to stop and trying to push him off. I asked him what he did at this stage, to which he replied, that he held her down and had sex with her. When I asked if he could see the problem with that he said "mate, I’d been buying her drinks all night; I paid for the bloody taxi; we'd already done it once. Yeah she was saying "no", come on mate, they all say "no" what's the problem?” The “problem” was he had just admitted to committing sexual assault. The "problem" was he ended up going to prison for it. The "problem" was that he didn't think he had done anything wrong"

(This is the second time I’m writing this post, as the first one got deleted. Hate when that happens…)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about different post-graduate opportunities. It’s still a bit early for me as I’m a senior whose doing a 5th year coterm. But like most Stanford students, I’ve got a wide array of options on the table. Personally, I’m considering:

Research, joining a tech startup, starting my own company, management consulting, non-profit work, Google, med school and b-school. As I consider all these options, there are a bunch of factors I taking into account:

• How much I will enjoy the day to day work?
• What I will learn in terms of knowledge, skills and experience?
• Who I will interact with: friends, colleagues, bosses, mentors?
• What I will have accomplished?
• Is this opportunity is available later on in life?
• How much I will get paid?
• Whether I’m making a positive contribution to society?

You may have your own list as well. The problem with all these opportunities is that you stress about whether or not you there is a “best one” for you, and making sure that you get it. As research has shown, more options = less happiness with final choice.

But when I think about all most fulfilling, educational and admirable things I’ve done or been a part of, I realize that there are two things they all shared:

1) There were always times when I hated what I was doing, or thought it was a waste of time, or felt unhappy with how I was being treated.

2) I got what I put into in. If I just tried to coast by, do the minimum, or go through the motions, I gained little of value. But when I put everything into it, went the extra mile and really made it a priority, I gained something very valuable.

So here’s what I’m saying - Don’t stress too much over the post-grad stuff. Whatever you end up choosing will be good for you provided you enter with a curious, honest and willing-to-work attitude. We’re all exceptional people here at Stanford, and we bring that with us, wherever we end up going.

Last Tuesday at the Stanford Women’s Community Center, Terry Root, a recent recipient of the Nobel Prize for her work on the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC), came to discus challenges she’s faced in as a woman in the scientific community. Her first experience with sexism in academics came from her own father, who asserted “Girls aren’t supposed to be good at math”, when informed of Terry’s outstanding grade on a middle school math exam. She proceeded to become a math major at the University of New Mexico, later going on to pursue biology at the University of Colorado, and getting her PhD in the subject at Princeton. Historically women have had it rough in academia.
Now the gender gap is skewed in favor of women, with female students continuing to outnumber male students, in the admission process as well as enrollment. It is estimated that 56% of undergraduates in the US are women. While women are adequately represented in the undergraduate population, those numbers diminish as we look at the next steps on the institutional ladder.

I'm usually not that big on New Year's Resolutions. Mainly because I never felt the need to stop smoking, lose weight or drink less, the main resolutions we always hear about. But this year, a few factors have come together to help me make a New Year's Resolution

1) I feel that my episodic or "experiential" memory (as opposed to my semantic or "reading" memory) is very weak and lacking. I don't remember things that happened to me a year ago - other people will tell me things I said or did. (And no, it's not because I was wasted...)

2) I never feel as organized as I want to be. There are always things I need to do that slip through the cracks, or appointments that I miss and I want that to change.

3) When buying a gift for my mom at the Stanford Bookstore, I saw a Daily Planner Moleskine. I'm a big fan of Moleskines and it looked so nice and professional. I wanted it.

So these factors combined have lead me to make a Resolution: each evening I will review my appointments and tasks for the next day, and write one sentence about any interesting or significant or happy things that happened during the day (inspired by the Happiness Project's journal). This will allow me to become better organized, and happier as well. Not a bad combination in my view.

I want this planner/journal thing to become a habit. I have a very hard time developing good habits - I just do things as they come to me, and I hope this Resolution will become a daily habit that makes my life better. So if you're still thinking about making a New Year's Resolution (it's not too late!), think about making a daily, or weekly habit. Imagine the difference one year later.

It's what you do everyday, not what you do once in a while, that counts.

Normally I wouldn’t write about my own startup on the Stanford blog. But I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw how fast and powerful just one blog was in spreading the word about Homeslyce, now servicing students starting college.

As you can see from the graph on the right, the number of unique users and page views shot up exponentially in just three days.

So I thought I’d write and share some things I saw and learned with my entrepreneurial home.

Yet another fascinating presentation from TED

Watch and discuss.

At around 11:30 this morning, eleven students from the Stanford Sweat-Free Coalition began a sit-in in President Hennessy's office to protest what they call "Stanford's inaction on sweatshops."

As of 3:30pm this afternoon, all the students were still sitting there, accompanied by moral supporters outside the office building.

According to an article on the San Francisco Chronicle's website, University officials today said they "agreed" with the students' point and were "working on a plan to ensure Stanford gear is produced in responsible factories."

According to the group's website, the students have been prevented from using the private bathrooms in the Office: "The cops are going upstairs to pee, while we are forced to hold it. They told us that there are public toilets outside, but we cannot be let back in. We are prepared to pee in our pants."

Did this officer get to pee inside?

Emails circulated on various Stanford lists say Sweat Free's schedule for the rest of the day includes a Solidarity Rally at 4:30pm in the Main Quad and a "Sweat-Free Teach-In" at 6pm in Bldg. 240.

Two of their signs:

Materials for a protest

Even college presidents are getting fed up with U.S. News and World Report's annual college rankings.

According to the Washington Post, a letter from 12 college presidents including Dickinson College President William G. Durden called the rankings "misleading" and "not in the interest of prospective students in finding a college or university that is well suited to their education beyond high school."

In particular, a lot of the criticism has centered around the U.S. News' "peer reputation" survey, which asks school administrators to rank other schools in their region, often as many as 150, according to the Washington Post. Schools can rank from 1 to 5, or answer "don't know."

Ultimately, lots of buzz is going around the college administrator circuit hoping to offer as little information as necessary to U.S. News for its annual rankings. Just give them data they could get anyways such as enrollment and transfer rates, degrees conferred and financial aid, some advocate.

In the end, I agree with Robert J. Massa, vice president for enrollment and college relations at Dickinson College, who asks, "Why should we help U.S. News sell magazines?" That is, after all, all they want to do.

What an abyss of uncertainty, whenever the mind feels overtaken by itself; when it, the seeker, is at the same time the dark region through which it must go seeking and where all its equipment will avail it nothing. […] It is face to face with something which does not yet exist, which it alone can make actual, which it alone can bring into the light of day. Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way, History 136B

Look at that beautiful piece of literature I read today for a class. Gorgeous. Reading it got me thinking: across various Departments and Programs in the University, students read a vast canon of literature. How often do you read something so great-- so transcendent-- that you dog-ear it, underline it, highlight it...and then share it with your roommate? Wouldn't it be great if you could share it with even more people?

Now, instead of reading spam in your inbox, you can enjoy some good writing in a weekly email containing a short snippet that was read in a Stanford class this month. Add yourself by sending an email with “Subscribe me!” in the subject line to ALineofLit@gmail.com.

Also, when you’re reading a text for class and you come across a passage you like, send it to us. We take the one we like best and send it out for everyone to enjoy each week or so.

For those of you familiar, this idea is similar to The Paragraph of the Day. The big difference is that all our texts referenced are currently being read at Stanford! It’s a nice way to wake up in the morning--with a piece of great writing sitting in your inbox…so don’t forget to sign up and to submit your favorite prose today!

[Update: See Craig's video interview on the Jeopardy website!]

Fellow Grove dormmate and trivia extraordinaire Craig Boge '07 will be appearing on Jeopardy's College Tournament on Tuesday, from 7-7:30pm on ABC. Despite our best attempts to pry the details of his performance out of him since he returned from the taping in LA last Monday, we remain in complete suspense. You're welcome to join us for the viewing party in Grove Lasuen or simply watch from the comfort of your own lounge.

The Tournament begins Monday, April 30th and ends Friday, May 11th.

Go Craig!

In light of our miserable failure to pass Special Fees for the Stanford News Readership Program this past election, one silver lining is the New York Times' announcement a month or so ago that it is giving away Times Select premium content to University students and faculty for free!

I learned of this fact today, but it's a bit anti-climactic for me. When the newspaper locked away its illustrious columnists under the Select program back in 2005, I couldn't imagine what life would be like without their liberal guidance. But I survived, and well, now I would like to think I'm stronger without having to rely on the crutch of their brilliance to decide where I stand on the issues.

So, Tom Friedman and Paul Krugman, it's nice to have you back. But with the NYTimes re-initiating the relationship, I sort of feel like you're asking to have us back.

You've already heard all the warnings about taking Admit Weekend with a grain of salt but quite frankly, I've never heard of a single student (well, maybe this one) who took Admit Weekend for its face value. You're smart, you're here, and you already have the tools to go out and discover the "real" Stanford.

What constitutes a "real" Stanford? The classes? The incredible access to research that undergraduates have? Open-minded, accessible faculty? The funding Stanford provides? Great overseas opportunities? All of these, yes - but it's your classmates that will really help you find your anchor here.

Stanford has an amazing array of student groups. When I first came to Stanford, I found it difficult to believe that students were actually doing and running some of these groups. Groups like FACES, which organizes two professional conferences every year at Stanford and in China for student leaders. ASES, which promotes networking and mentorship for budding entrepreneurs in Asia. FACE AIDS, fighting AIDS in Africa. EPATT - East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring. Amazing events being put on by Stanford chapters of professional organizations, such as IEEE; BASES, connecting students with Venture Capital firms. SIG, providing Stanford students with internships in Washington, DC and beyond at key policy institutes around the world. The Stanford Dems, connecting campus to local California issues as well as coordinating student volunteers for national elections. There are several more that I'm missing right now.

Through a friend of a friend of a sister, I heard about a very interesting project called A Minute In The Life: The Simultaneous Photograph Project. The goal is to get as many people as possible to all take pictures within the same minute. He will then collect all of these pictures and do with them as he pleases. The chosen day is Saturday, the June 2nd, between 2:00 and 2:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time (11:00 and 11:01 PM for us left-coasters). Put it on your calendar and spread the word. Additional details can be found by following the link at the top of the entry. This sounds really awesome. Now, what do I want to take a picture of and send to some random dude in Bethesda, Maryland?

Of course, I can never avoid a Stanford history lesson. A while back, Stanford Magazine had a great article about the Muybridge photograph sequence (pictured), often called A Horse in Motion. Not only did it prove that all four legs of a horse are airborne mid-gallop, but it also challenged the traditional artistic depiction of horses in gallop (with legs extended, as opposed to tucked under). This 1878 series, taken rapidly with multiple fixed cameras, is often considered one of the most important precursors to film.

I read a book review for the upcoming How Doctors Think.
Sounds like an interesting read - now that I've decided to go to med school, I see things about medicine all the time. Everyone makes mistakes - including doctors.

I'm getting knee surgery next week and I'm going to ask my anesthesiologist what he thinks about the study that says that while anesthesiologists make up 6% of all physicians, they account for 25% of all physician substance abuse? It's kind of scary and I just want to know what he/she will say. I figure if he's clean he'll just be annoyed and tell me he's clean. The guy who's not clean will probably also tell me he's clean, but be just a bit more alert when he/she is working on me, because of the guilt of screwing up after lying to me would be awful.

That's my hope.

Psychology Professor Emeritus Phil Zimbardo put in a funny and enlightening performance with Jon Stewart in last night's The Daily Show. They start with a cute exchange wherein Jon notes that he was once a Psychology major himself:

Zimbardo: "What'd you get in introductory psych?"

Jon: "Introductory Psych 101? I got... uhh... 'Yes, your essay was long enough.'"

The very popular and notorious Stanford Psychology professor gave his farewell lecture at Stanford three weeks ago and is now making the rounds to promote his new book, The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, which discusses, in detail for the first time, the famed Stanford Prison Experiment of 1971, and then draws parallels to the modern-day events of American prison abuses in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.

Watch the video online here.

i found this story while i was scouting around the web during my normal workday procrastination and part of it really struck me: why is it that the whole pet food craziness gets media coverage galore because of a dozen dead pets, but 12 fallen soldiers gets little to no coverage. are we that used to the daily war casualties? are we complacent enough that we say, "oh wow! only 12 dead soldiers! that's way less than yesterday...what a great day towards victory." i reckon that no news from iraq can be exciting enough for the american media/public after four years of hearing about it, but honestly.

at the end of the day, though, we have to trust the media and gobble up their take-home message:

like, omg. rat-poisoned pet food is, like, totally the new e. coli-ladened spinach!

When thinking of outdoor art on campus, what comes to mind for most people is the rich collection of sculptures affiliated with the Cantor Arts Museum. Lately, though, Stanford has seen several guerrilla art installations popping up across campus.

If you spend a lot of time touring Campus Drive Loop, you will have undoubtedly noticed the huge geodesic dome constructed on the lawn outside of Chi Theta Chi. This is an incredible feat of construction, and I have been told it started as a scrap project, and turned into a masterpiece.

Recently, the Tresidder Bollards were dressed up in what looks to be pajamas, with lace fringe. This installation only lasted one day.

Imagine a college where students get a rigorous, top-notch, all-expense paid education, in the tradition of military academies. But instead of years in the military, graduates would repay their education in public service - be it local, state, or federal government.

This amazing school is becoming a reality, thanks to Chris Myers Asch and Shawn Raymond, and their project: The United States Public Service Academy. Their idea has become a congressional bill and will be introduced next week by Senator Clinton, along with another Senator and 2 Representatives. This is very impressive from 2 thirty-somethings who did Teach for America together, especially since they first came up with the idea less than one year ago!

That is one impressive display of resourcefulness, gumption and passion.

I know you all are dying to help this project out, so here's what you can do: if you are high school student, college student, or recent grad, express your support for this awesome bill by "signing" the letter and mailing it to

asch@uspublicserviceacademy.org

It's so easy and this is such a great cause.

Dear Members of Congress:

We, the undersigned, are high school students, college students, and recent college graduates in the United States, and we are urging you to support the Public Service Academy Act. We think the U.S. Public Service Academy is the kind of school that young people would love to attend. If the Academy were around when we were applying to college, we would have applied to attend. We need to build it for future generations!

Signed,

______________________________

________________
(Name)
_____________________________________
(City, State)

I hate how people make all kinds of metaphors for life. Just to prove how bunk they are, I'm using a random word generator to make 10 metaphors for life on the spot. Tell me they don't make sense somehow =)

Life is like...
1. Accents - everyone has one and they are all a little different - making it harder to understand some people more than others
2. A guarantee - you can find it with anyone, but it doesn't mean much except for a select few who truy honor it.
3. A disaster - (nothing more needs to be said)
4. An infection - it grows on you