Society – Page 8 – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Cost-Benefit Revolution by Cass R. Sunstein

By Scott J. Pearson | June 1, 2020May 31, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Sunstein, a Harvard law professor, has served in several administrations, both Republican and Democratic. In this book, he exposits his experience in regulation to suggest more effective ways to do so. Instead of partisan pro-con analysis, he suggests to measure costs and benefits, an idea originally implemented by Reagan through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). This practice provides a pragmatic – Sunstein calls it “technocratic” – way of assessing which regulations are…

Biography-Memoir History Leadership Society

Grant by Ron Chernow

By Scott J. Pearson | May 25, 2020September 24, 2024 by Scott J. Pearson

This Memorial Day is appropriate to celebrate one of our nation’s forgotten saviors. Although Lincoln is often credited with guiding the nation’s rebirth by preserving the Union, none of this would have happened without Ulysses S. Grant’s leadership. Still, Grant is often denigrated as an inept drunk and a butcher of soldiers. This view simply was not shared among his contemporaries who viewed his grace in Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse as foundational in national…

Healthcare Society

Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start – And Why They Don’t Go Away

By Scott J. Pearson | May 9, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

A casual perusal of social media will demonstrate an active debate about vaccines in contemporary society. Many cite (relatively rare) side effects and disregard abundant scientific studies about vaccines’ effectiveness; these people argue that they should have a “choice” over whether to admit a vaccine in their bodies. They do not heed arguments that herd immunity protects the herd better – that eschewing vaccines hurt us all. In this sociological work, Larson addresses how these…

Research-Education Society

Research Universities and the Public Good: Discovery for an Uncertain Future

By Scott J. Pearson | April 22, 2020April 23, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Recent years have witnessed funding cuts for universities, both at the state and federal levels. Due to economic factors beyond its control (like the Great Recession), research dollars from governmental sources have shrunk, and research budgets from industry have not risen. Industry’s and government’s interests differ in more immediate monetary applications versus long-term social gains. Someone must pay for university work, and oftentimes, that someone is the individual student and her/his family. Owen-Smith, a professor…

Society Software-Technology

The Internet of Things: What Everyone Needs to Know

By Scott J. Pearson | March 8, 2020March 8, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

As a society, we have quickly moved into and out of the computer age and into the age of the world wide web. We are soon moving into the age of the Internet of Things (IoT). These comprise a myriad of devices which “talk” together via computer networks. They collect mountains of data on us and are poised to revolutionize virtually every sphere of human life. Although driven by technological advance, these changes are ultimately…

History Society Software-Technology

Technology: Critical History of a Concept

By Scott J. Pearson | February 22, 2020February 23, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

As commonly told, science rose in the public’s consciousness during the Renaissance. However, the word “technology” in the English language was not used then. Instead, “technology” was used more and more frequently after the 1950s. What does this word exactly mean and what does it tell about our society that we use it so much today? Schatzberg, a professor in one of the premier schools of technology in the world, asks these questions with us…

Society Software-Technology

The Future of Feeling: Building Empathy in a Tech-Obsessed World

By Scott J. Pearson | February 15, 2020February 15, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

Technology – especially social media – has made our communication more accessible over the last ten years. But has it enhanced the quality of our conversation? In this book, Phillips contends that empathy has lost out in the transition to digital technology. She cites events like the 2016 US election as proof of how we are unable to have a civilized conversation in the digital world. Thus far (in the first couple chapters in the…

Religion-Philosophy Society

Christianity and Culture by TS Eliot

By Scott J. Pearson | January 18, 2020January 18, 2020 by Scott J. Pearson

I first read these essays while a senior at college. Now, about twenty years later, I reread them in a study on the English poet TS Eliot. Eliot uses language very carefully, as any poet should, but he is a poet approaching the world of an anthropologist. Further, he writes in an era (pre- and post-World-War-II) in which European culture was pulled apart at the seams and remade again. Eliot himself is an American transplant…