January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

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The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin Darimont BD, Duijf PH, Van Bokhoven H, McKeon F, Dotsch V. A C- Terminal Inhibitory Domain Controls the Activity of p63 by an Intramolecular Mechanism. Mol Cell Biol. 2002 Dec 15;22(24):8601- 8611. Announcements: Dayalan Srinivasan (G7) ran his first NYC marathon on Sunday, Nov 3, 2002. (A long) way to go, Dayalan! Congrats! Donald Ingber, Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School, Senior Research Associate at Children's Hospital and HST faculty member has been selected for inclusion in Esquire Magazine's "Best and Brightest of 2002" issue (Dec. 2002) based on his work on cell structure. [ back to top ] Copyright ©2003 - Harvard University. All rights reserved. Privacy policy file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/JJL21/Desktop/bulletin/2003/WebonlyJanuary2003/announcements.html (2 of 2)11/13/2006 10:28:41 AM
The Harvard University BBS website: January Bulletin BBS Calendar BBS Bulletin Staff BBS Home Page This Issue Current Issue Previous Issues Articles by Category ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● BBS Events Boston Eating Extracurricular Faculty Profiles Grad Student Life Housing Science Science and Society Women in Science Volume VII, Number 1 - January 2003 Book Review: The Blank Slate By Allan M. Gurtan In his newest book, The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker offers an analysis of the "Nature versus Nurture" debate. Pinker, a Professor of Psychology at MIT, is known for his research in linguistics and visual perception. He has written several books on cognition, including How the Mind Works and Learnability and Cognition. The book begins with a broad historical overview. The Blank Slate is framed by a discussion of three conceptually related doctrines that, according to Pinker, have been particularly influential on the nature/ nurture debate. The doctrine of "The Blank Slate" was formulated by the philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) and states that every individual is shaped entirely by experience. The second doctrine, that of the "noble savage", came from Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) who perceived humans as inherently selfless and benevolent creatures better fit to nature than to civilization. The "Ghost in the Machine", attributed to Rene Descartes (1596-1650), is the third doctrine and states that the mind exists independently of the body. The book traces the development of these concepts and presents the subsequent challenges posed to them by a modern understanding of human behavior as influenced by psychological, sociological, and biological studies. In so doing, Pinker presents a picture in which current data support the role of both the environment and genetics in determining human behavior. Pinker then proceeds to explore the moral, social, and political ramifications of such a conclusion. According to the book, four fears emerge upon suggestion that genes influence behavior: (a) Genetic arguments may be used to rationalize social inequality; (b) Social reform may not be possible if genes "hard-wire" behavior into each file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/JJL21/Desktop/bulletin/2003/WebonlyJanuary2003/book.html (1 of 3)11/13/2006 10:28:42 AM
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January 2003 - Division of Medical Sciences Bulletin - Harvard ...

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