Month / December 26, 2015

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  • Entropy in Egypt

    As usual, the Middle East is dominating headlines. The bloody war in Syria drags on with no signs of slowing, Saudi Arabia is launching airstrikes at Yemen’s Houthis, ISIS continues its rampage into Iraq and Syria, and the U.S. is watching carefully to ensure Iran implements its part of the nuclear deal signed over the…

  • Billionaires Don’t Buy Elections

    On September 21st, Scott Walker abruptly quit the presidential race. After two nearly invisible debate performances, he was polling abysmally. Nevertheless, his exit came as a surprise. In fact, just four days before Walker left the race, Nate Silver, the political prognosticator who correctly predicted the outcomes of all 50 states in 2012, was optimistic…

  • Politically Correct Art: An Oxymoron?

    Last year, Emma Sulkowicz, then a senior at Columbia University, made national headlines with her endurance performance art piece “Carry That Weight.” Her story is likely one you’ve heard before: Sulkowicz avowed to carry a 50-lb extra-long twin mattress—similar to the Columbia dorm mattress—until the student she alleged had raped her during her sophomore year…

  • Art Repatriation: An Ethical Obligation

    With deep brown and perfectly symmetrical eyes, Ka-Nefer-Nefer, as depicted on her funerary mask, stares intently forward, prepared for her entrance into the afterlife. In accordance with ancient Egyptian belief, the funerary mask is intended to provide a means for the ba, or the spirit of the deceased, to recognize and return to its mummified…