Explaining research to a rubber duck might sound odd, but it could be the secret to clearer thinking and better communication. This post explores how “rubber ducking” — a technique borrowed from programming — can help researchers explain complex ideas with more clarity, creativity, and confidence.
Christine Tulley discusses how the academic publication lifecycle has undergone radical changes over the past several years. These changes have a significant impact on how scholarship will be written, published, promoted, and read in the future.
Last fall in the New Yorker, Jill Lapore bemoaned the current relationship between intellectuals and the general public, which she feels is “more vexed than ever” — in part because of a system that rewards academics for outrageousness and for lousy writing. Does she have a point?