Harvard University's Division of Social Science hosts a conference on Hard Problems in Social Science, with contributions (on RealPlayer) by Ann Swidler, Nassim Taleb, Nick Bostrom, Gary King, Emily Oster, Roland Fryer, and more. For an egocentric mogul (Mort Zuckerman), over-caffeinated TV host (Lou Dobbs, Chris Matthews, Larry Kudlow), or out-of-office politician (Newt Gingrich, Harold Ford), there’s no more satisfying source of media attention than the foreplay of running for office. The Art of the Confession: Meghan Daum and Emily Gould on the ups and downs of writing their minds (and Ana Marie Cox reviews And the Heart Says Whatever by Emily Gould). In private pay, an implicit progressive tax: Robert H. Frank on the tax hiding in your paycheck. This won't hurt a bit: K.C. Mason on vibrators, orgasms, and medical masturbation. Masturbation as literature's last taboo: Only the sin of Onan really retains the power to shock readers. A review of Unsanctioned Voice: Garet Garrett, Journalist of the Old Right by Bruce Ramsey. Arifa Akbar analyses the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, psychiatry's biggest brains. A review of Reputation and Power: Organizational Image and Pharmaceutical Regulation at the FDA by Daniel Carpenter. Digital power and its discontents: Evgeny Morozov and Clay Shirky on the dreams of network utopians vs. the realists. How do you measure "epistemic closure"? Ezra Klein wants to know (and a response at The Monkey Cage). Ted Cox goes undercover at a Christian gay-to-straight conversion camp. Rich People Things: The SEC doesn't care about your Ponzi schemes. Mandatory calorie posting influenced consumer behavior at Starbucks in New York City, causing average calories per transaction to drop by 6 percent.
