Alex SmallIn Defense of Dissenting SyllabiCould any professor fairly summarize–in just one sentence–the complicated history of land rights in their locale over centuries of conquest…Aug 7, 2022Aug 7, 2022
Alex SmallScience Isn’t About SainthoodShould we rename concepts or equations named for racist scholars? A recent opinion piece argued that scientists who value diversity and…Jul 14, 2022Jul 14, 2022
Alex SmallMore thoughts on Dr. Seuss, offensive art, and an open societyFirst, foremost, and (in my opinion) leastmost, everyone is within their rights here. The Geisel family can stop printing these books…Mar 8, 2021Mar 8, 2021
Alex SmallI want to read a cancelled book. The scolds? They scare me more than crooks!The estate of Dr. Seuss has decided to cease publication of 6 books because they carry images that offend modern sensibilities, and…Mar 3, 2021Mar 3, 2021
Alex SmallWhat happened to the prosocial nature of vaccination?I’m old enough to remember Before Times, when the anti-science cranks were the ones who told you that vaccines protect neither the…Mar 1, 2021Mar 1, 2021
Alex SmallTeaching is a human activity, so let’s discuss it in human termsLike most professors, I spent part of last summer in an online teaching workshop. As happens in workshops, people asked us to specify…Feb 8, 2021Feb 8, 2021
Alex SmallThe Farewell as a Tale of Similarity in an Era of DiversityI have never identified with a movie character as strongly as I identify with Billi Wang in The Farewell (the role for which Awkwafina…Jan 10, 2020Jan 10, 2020
Alex SmallinArc DigitalWhy This Physics Professor Reads Old BooksA scientist’s case for taking STEM off its cultural pedestalAug 17, 20192Aug 17, 20192