The Essentials

For fans of “The Office”: The Huffington Post is airing a clip from the final season of the sitcom in which Stephen Colbert, playing Cornell alum Broccoli Rob, upstages Andy – dressed as singer George Michael – when Andy books his former Cornell a cappella group to perform at the office’s Halloween party.

David Pizarro, associate professor of psychology, demonstrates a correlation between sensitivity to disgusting cues and moral and political conservatism in this TED talk.

Learn more.

The Law School celebrated the publication of “Introduction to Property Theory” by Gregory Alexander and Eduardo Peñalver ’94 on Oct. 3.

“We are hopeful that the book will provide a useful introduction to the many debates over the nature and philosophical foundations of property,” says Peñalver, professor of law. “At the same time, we wanted to provide an overview of recent property scholarship, identifying the most active debates as well as the areas of consensus.” Adds Alexander, the A. Robert Noll Professor of Law, “The book’s secondary purpose is to provide a brief account of our own theory of property, which is based on the value of human flourishing.”

The fall 2012 Ezra, Cornell’s quarterly news magazine, looks at how a visit to a Cornell library, in person or online, provides a level of customization that would have been unthinkable half a century ago, when the massive card catalog ruled and students filled out carbon-copied punch cards to request items. It also examines how the library’s rich collections and expert staff inspire research and teaching, on campus and around the world.

Also in this issue: New views of Klarman Hall’s planned design, the Cornell NYC Tech campus is ramping up with academic programming and key hires, an update on the Cornell Now campaign, a look at how the Tatkon Center is a hub of support for first-year students, Cornell marks Ithaca Silent Movie Month, the Morrill Land Grant Act turns 150, and faculty legends Alexander de Lahunta and Flora Rose.

Subscribe to the print edition of Ezra magazine.

- Joe Wilensky

Following remarks by President Barack Obama and Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative’s annual meeting Sept. 23-25 in Washington, D.C., Lynn Stout, Distinguished Professor of Corporate and Business Law, spoke at the plenary session on Working Capital: Creating Value for Business and Society. Stout’s comments begin at 42:50.

Video of the quickly-becoming-legendary Sept. 14 Ho Plaza Gangnam Style flash mob.

Over the summer, Jacqueline Neves ’14 (at left with co-founder Drew Sabia) developed a new social network called uJiiV with 16 people, 14 of whom are Cornell students. The site’s concept: helping users manage multiple calendars and integrate events with Facebook and other social networks to coordinate with friends and groups.

“We’re looking to further develop the planning and coordination aspect of the social media experience that a lot of users are taking advantage of,” said Neves, an applied economics and management major. “One of the main functions of Facebook or Twitter is to plan events with friends and connect with them, and we’re trying to find a better and more structured way to build and manage events.”

Social media made it possible for Neves, who is studying abroad in France, to work with her crew while overseas. She believes the site will facilitate communication among diverse groups.

“This is an interesting site that will appeal to the college-aged, professionals, organizations, sports teams, etc.; every one of us could use some help managing everything that we do in our busy lives,” she said.

uJiiV is scheduled to launch Sept. 26.

–Jacques Diec ’15

That’s the title of Steve Strogatz‘s new six-part series of columns on math for The New York Times. His first series, Elements of Math, was widely read and talked about.

“Sharpen your pencils, dust off your abacus and join me once again for a few weeks of mind-bending pleasure. No, I’m not speaking about politics,” writes Strogatz, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics, of Me, Myself and Math. “We’ll focus on how the subject I love — math — relates to the subject we all love — ourselves.

“From the DNA that encodes us, to the fingerprints that characterize us, to our place in the universe and our friend counts on Facebook, we are mathematical marvels. In the coming weeks we’ll see what math can reveal about us and our world, and at the same time, how the wonders of us have inspired advances in math. No specialized knowledge or background will be required, just curiosity and a sense of fun.”

When the library wanted to share its literary news without contributing to inbox clutter, Librarian Fred Muratori turned to the blogosphere.

EnglishLit @ CUL reports on library-related developments relevant to the English department and the literary research community at Cornell. It includes announcements of new print and electronic resources; new library services and research tools; trial access to historical databases; information about software for literary research, library workshops and exhibitions – not to mention updates on physical changes taking place in Olin and Uris libraries.