Science Of Small Talk

These days, the majority of my interactions with students outside of class don't take place in person, but rather in cyberspace. As any faculty member can tell you, these email exchanges range from the appropriately courteous and tactful to the... well, let's just say, not so much. I've heard colleagues decry such emails as evidence that today's students just don't have the same sense of respect and propriety as their predecessors did. That kids today are just lazy. Perhaps, but I suspect that faculty have been saying this about students for generations, much like everyone's grandfather seems to have walked the same 5 uphill, snow-covered miles to school each morning. No, I think we just live in a much different world than we did 20, even 10 years ago, and a lot of that has to do with the rise of email... Read More

This series has explored the events leading up to the trial and conviction of Christopher McCowen, a Cape Cod trash collector, for the murder of fashion journalist Christa Worthington. What's the relevance of this real-life legal drama to my blog's focus on the science of small talk?  Well, in the end, McCowen's fate would depend on how a judge evaluated the remarks allegedly made by jurors deliberating on his case. In this final chapter of a four-part story, the outcome of this legal proceeding ultimately would hinge on a matter as mundane as word choice... Read More

In my last post, I described the events surrounding the Cape Cod murder of fashion journalist Christa Worthington. Three years after her death, Christopher McCowen was arrested for her rape and murder.  Whatever stereotypes you may hold about residents of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, McCowen likely doesn't fit them. At the time of his arrest he was 33. He had a reasonably extensive criminal record. His IQ was just a handful of points above the classification of Mild Mental Retardation. In short, he was an African-American garbage collector that didn't fit into the murder mystery script many had been writing for the case. Read More

I've come to the conclusion that it's a great and important idea, this whole New Year's resolution business. One day out of 365 set aside for us to do what we're ordinarily not very good at–recognizing our own limitations and identifying needs for improvement. The other 364, we're more like the dieter who goes out of his way to inspect progress via "friendly" scale or mirror, feeling the need to take stock of who we are and how we're doing, but not really wanting the unvarnished, unblemished truth. Read More