Academic Freedom at Florida CLAS

One of my colleagues informed me about a website at the University of Florida, hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The website provides information about academic freedom, and I’m impressed by the college’s effort to create the website. It addresses fundamental questions that people often have about academic freedom, tenure, and other …

Note on Research and Ethics in the Age of Publish or Perish

Diogenes, when once questioned about his curious act of wandering the city in broad daylight with a lamp, replied, “I am looking for an honest man.” (Plutarch, Life of Alexander, XIV.1-5). Honesty in scientific and mathematical research is central to human progress. Recently, a series of disturbing events have changed the academic community. The President …

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conquering limbs astride from land to land;Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall standA mighty woman with a torch, whose flameIs the imprisoned lightning, and her nameMother of Exiles. From her beacon-handGlows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes commandThe air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.Keep, ancient lands, your …

LibriVox – Free Open Audio Books

https://librivox.org/ Many people have kindly volunteered to create their own ‘books on tape,’ much like those we heard as children from our local library. Though tape is gone, we can now hear free digital ones from anywhere in the world. There are some good readers of traditional texts. Most are fictional, and worth listening to …