The Te’o hoax: Why we care so much, and why we really should not

Jan 252013
 
 January 25, 2013  Posted by  Tagged with: , , ,
The Te’o hoax: Why we care so much, and why we really should not

The narrative is so beautiful: Girlfriend of mega-football star died of leukemia, and boyfriend carried his team to an upset in her honor. The football star then went on to become the second most dominant player in college. Why second? Because that’s what actually happened, and frankly, first will just be a bit too cliché. As it turns out, Manti Te’o’s girlfriend was not real; in fact, the “girlfriend” might had been a boy. Many people are now “vaguely enraged” (phrase borrowed from Kolsterman in his letters to Gladwell) because they ended up on the receiving end of the “just kidding” story of the year. As of right now, nobody knows whether Te’o was involved in this not-so-malicious hoax. In fact, I made a meme for the occasion! (I actually think it More…

Risky Business: Outsourcing your Job

Jan 222013
 
 January 22, 2013  Posted by  Tagged with: , , ,
Risky Business: Outsourcing your Job

On April 21, 2009, the Onion posted a spoof about U.S employees outsourcing their jobs to workers in developing nations: Although it was brilliant satire, no one expected it to be prescient, until last week. A forty-year old software programmer was discovered to have contracted his job to a company in Shengyang, China. An investigation into his browsing history found that his daily “work” consisted of hours on Reddit, cat videos, Facebook, and LinkedIn, while his Chinese counterparts completed his coding projects remotely. The irony? He paid the Shengyang company only $50,000/year (one-fifth of his salary) and was consistently reviewed by his employers as the company’s best programmer. Needless to say, the software company terminated his contract. But on what grounds should he have been fired? Was his stunt a More…

The Dark Side of Black Friday

Nov 292012
 
 November 29, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
The Dark Side of Black Friday

We all have an image of the ideal Thanksgiving Day set in our heads. It is a day of cooking, feasting, and eventually laying in food comas. It is a day of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving special, and football. It is a day of laughter, catching up, and enjoying the wonderful company of family and close friends. It is a day of reflection, appreciation, and giving thanks. But, this has all changed in recent years. This year as families were sitting down to feast on a thoughtfully planned out and carefully cooked dinner, 307. 67 million Americans were standing in lines outside of major retailers. This year Black Friday, the day of shopping historically following Thanksgiving Day, took over Thanksgiving Day. Stores such as Wal-Mart More…

Pardon Me, Please?

Nov 212012
 
 November 21, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , , ,
Pardon Me, Please?

Before you dig into your Thanksgiving turkey (or am I too late?), consider this fun fact: the President of the United States pardons a turkey at an official ceremony in the White House every year and saves it from slaughter. This tradition started in 1989 with President George H. Bush.  Among the lucky few birds that have been spared are Katie and Zack in 2001 (named after children of the Chairman of the National Turkey Federation),  Marshmallow and Yam in 2005, and Liberty and Peace last Thanksgiving. The process  is full of pomp.  The turkeys (one for the ceremony and one alternate) are selected at birth and trained to handle loud noises, crowds, and flash photography. They are brought into D.C. via motorcade and stay in a deluxe suite at More…

The Right to be Wrong

Nov 152012
 
 November 15, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
The Right to be Wrong

Recently, six Italian scientists and one government official were convicted of criminal negligence and manslaughter over the earthquake in L’Aquila that killed over 300 people in 2009. The court ruled that they were liable for failing to adequately forewarn people of the natural disaster. This recent case places the limelight on predictive sciences. What degree of accuracy should we demand? Should seismologists be held criminally liable for being wrong? Should they be morally liable for their inaccurate forecasts? Before examining the culpability of the Italian scientists, it is important to examine two analogous cases. Medicine too is a predictive science to a certain degree. No doctor can be 100% certain of the success rate of a procedure or the effectiveness of treatment. Nevertheless we do hold physicians to a certain More…

Roommates by Design?

Nov 132012
 
 November 13, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with:
Roommates by Design?

After the initial high of “OH MY GOD, I GOT INTO COLLEGE” dies down and the reality that you will be leaving home next year to live amongst thousands of strangers sets in, the anxiety about whom your roommate will be becomes all consuming. Of course, not everyone entering his or her freshmen year of college is as concerned as I make it seem. Yet, let’s get real: roommates are a huge source of apprehension for the average incoming freshmen. Obviously each person hopes that he or she will be paired with someone with whom he or she is compatible. Luckily the majority of universities have some type of questionnaire that asks generic questions such as, “Do you smoke?” and “Do you stay up late?” in hopes that students will More…

Does Free Speech Ride the Bus?

Nov 092012
 
 November 9, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Does Free Speech Ride the Bus?

This summer, on my commute to work on the New York City Subway 6-Line, my normal morning nap was interrupted by a fog horn-like voice. After unsuccessfully trying to drown it out with Taylor Swift, I tuned into the speaker’s words. Unlike the usual subway preacher/ rapper/ drum artist/ con artist with an upbeat message, this man was proclaiming eternal damnation for everyone (in very graphic terms): Asians, Jews, Russians…the list went on and on. I was grateful when an MTA police officer asked the man to step off my train. Reflecting on this scene brings me to the logical question, what are the limitations of free speech on public transit? Does free speech ride the bus? In what forms and what ways? Recently, advertisements by the American Freedom Defense More…

Paid to Protest?

Oct 112012
 
 October 11, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Paid to Protest?

Last November, a peaceful UC Davis student protest associated with the Occupy movement led to pretty big scandal surrounding police brutality when 21 students were pepper sprayed by campus police, captured in this video: While there was once a great deal of fury surrounding the actions of the campus police, sympathy for the victims is plunging now that the results of the settlement have finally arrived. The amount that the University of California will cough up to each student as compensation for last year’s incident? $30,000. Surprised? Jealous? Don’t give a care? There’s no denying this case cost a pretty penny. In total, $730,000 was awarded to the plaintiffs, plus $250,000 in costs and attorney fees. In addition, $100,000 was set aside for other victims yet to be identified. It More…

Google and Internet Freedom Part II (It Could Be Worse)

Oct 032012
 
 October 3, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Google and Internet Freedom Part II (It Could Be Worse)

Yes, Google currently holds power of regulating speech through YouTube.  And yes, Google shapes the way they control speech by using the American ideal of free speech.  Their policy is designed to give Google a very limited approach to regulation.  In fact, one could argue that since they follow other governments’ laws, other nations are actually the checks and balances for this company.  Whether they should have this power is irrelevant, because it already lies in their hands.  What is worrisome is how a government or a company decides to regulate their power of speech. Recently the video, The Innocence of Muslim was tied to the violence occurring in Libya and other countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa, as Grace posted about earlier this week.  YouTube hosted the More…

Google and Internet Freedom Part I (The Plight of the Modern Day Big Brother)

Oct 012012
 
 October 1, 2012  Posted by  Tagged with: , ,
Google and Internet Freedom Part I (The Plight of the Modern Day Big Brother)

Google is by no means, “Big Brother,” but it certainly has been making some big calls recently, with regards to its decision to keep the controversial video, “The Innocence of Muslims,” on YouTube. Despite requests from the government of the United States, Bangladesh, and Russia, Google has maintained the video on its main site, and only blocked it in India and Indonesia, where it violates local law.  To justify its decision, Google asserts that the video does not violate its terms of service or constitute hate speech because it is directed against Islam, not Muslims as a group. This recent controversy brings to light grave ethical and political implications. Should Google be the only party to have jurisdiction over YouTube?  What does freedom of speech and press look like in More…

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