Wed 6 Aug 2008
Sam Sommers ‘97: The Science of Small Talk
Posted by jeffz under Academia, General
Posted at 9:49 amTufts professor Sam Sommers from the great class of 1997 has an interesting new blog hosted by Psychology Today, the mission of which is to apply principles and theories of behavioral science to the examination of everyday interactions. Sort of like what we do, on a less rigorous basis, here at Ephblog …
August 6th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
If you like Sam’s blog topics, you might like this one too: http://thesituationist.wordpress.com/
August 6th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Lovely site, Jeff. Sommers writes with humor and wisdom.
My random pick produced “The Elusive Power of Daily Situations”, which I recommend to anyone willing and able to take a lighthearted look at interaction with a health care facility [...]
An excerpt which perfectly captures the aggravation of those humiliating hospital gowns:
“The nurse returns to brief me on the events to follow, but I’m barely listening because I have to check the unraveling knot on the back of my gown to ensure that our interaction remains firmly entrenched in the category of nurse/patient without devolving into that of artist/nude model.”
Will check out your site as well, um…’nuts’.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I am loving Sommers site. The essays are short and easy. Don’t miss “Obama and the Racial Divide”.
I avoided it at first, because, well…we have all had a lot of news on that front…but it points out a very simple (but enlightening) explanation for the disparity in poll findings.