The Wall Street Journal-20080131-The Informed Reader - Insights and Items of Interest From Other Sources

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The Informed Reader / Insights and Items of Interest From Other Sources

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Nuclear Technology:

Psst! Why Sharing Secrets May Be Valuable

Some U.S. nuclear secrets would be more valuable if they were shared among law-enforcement officials, allies and even some enemies, says Michael Levi in science magazine Seed.

Blanket security was a sensible approach when no one knew the basic principles that could be used to build a nuclear bomb. But today, scientists overestimate how much revealing secrets could help terrorists, says Mr. Levi, an energy-security specialist and fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The most important confidential information these days no longer involves theoretical questions such as the most effective shape of uranium in a bomb -- most scientists in the field can figure that out. The really valuable secret is how to process the uranium into the required shape. "While some theoretical ideas can make the dirty work easier," says Mr. Levi, "many would not contribute materially to anyone's efforts to build a bomb."

The U.S. would be better off with a more subtle policy that balances the risk of information disclosure with the potential benefits for U.S. security, says Mr. Levi, who has written extensively about nuclear terrorism. For example, the current policy prevents police officers and customs officials from obtaining information that might help them detect a nuclear weapon as it was being smuggled into the U.S.

Some nuclear secrets could even be effectively shared with enemies, says Mr. Levi. If the U.S. released certain technical details of its radiation detection equipment, for instance, it might convince terrorists that preparations for an attack on the U.S. could be spotted.

In each case, a delicate balance needs to be struck, says Mr. Levi. Making the effort to use openness strategically would make the U.S. safer than continuing to rely on obsessive secrecy.

-- Seed -- January/February

Food & Beverages:

Dining Halls Lose the Trays

In Hopes of Reducing Waste

Do cafeteria patrons waste food because of the ubiquitous food tray?

That is the conclusion of some university administrators, who have found that removing trays from dining halls cuts down on the amount of food that gets thrown in the trash. The idea is that without the convenience and space that trays afford, students don't get overly ambitious when it comes to portions.

Tests seem to back this up, Elia Powers reports in online publication Inside Higher Ed. At Alfred University in upstate New York, food and beverage waste dropped 30% to 50% on two days when trays were removed.

At Colby College in Maine, about one-third less waste is generated on days when trays aren't available. The drop is so predictable officials know to purchase less food for those days.

Students generally haven't enjoyed going without trays, administrators say. Some come up with enterprising alternatives. At Colby, a few students piled food onto chair seats on trayless days, while members of the school's woodsmen team crafted their own wooden trays.

-- Inside Higher Ed -- Jan. 30

Literature:

How Novellas Could Rescue

Fiction Writers and Readers

As the novel loses out to the ever-declining attention spans of the digital age, perhaps it is time for serious literature to rediscover the novella, says Jean Hannah Edelstein on the Guardian's books blog.

With a length somewhere between a short story and a novel, the novella can deliver a sophisticated read in the time it takes to watch a reality-television program or a movie. Thanks to the amount of paper they require, novellas can profitably sell for the price of a magazine.

Best of all, growth in novellas would bolster intellectual standards in an industry that lately has been accused of dumbing down literature. The novella's brevity tends to bring out "care and thought and the extra level of creative gusto" in authors.

-- The Guardian -- Jan. 29

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