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Byline: DAVID ALAN GRIER Machines of Loving Grace. The Quest for Common Ground Between Humans and Robots. By John Markoff. Illustrated. 378 pages. Ecco/HarperCollins Publishers. $26.99. Technologists rarely question technology [...]

Why a ball? Why do people cram themselves into Times Square in New York City every New Year's Eve to watch a ball slide down a pole? Why don't they […]

Comments on the role of the public in supporting scientific research in a democracy, in light of United States President George W. Bush's decision on funding stem cell research.

Relates the history of time balls, in light of the tradition of the dropping of the ball in Times Square, New York City on New Year's Eve.

Gives the author's experience of his grandmother who earned a degree in Mathematics in 1921 and kept it a secret. When he discovered that his grandmother had mathematical skills; How the grandmother utilized her degree.

Discusses the origins of the word plan and program related to computing. History of the term computer; Invention of the computer program; Computing jobs; Innovations in computing.

Commends the stand-ups, or television reporters who appear outside government buildings to tell the story of the day's news. The challenges that stand-ups face; What makes a good stand-up; Why stand-ups may at some point be seen as the street poets of our generation.

Recounts the author's experiences working on a production of Tom Stoppard's play `Arcadia.'

Comments on the community participation and cooperation which prevented the building of a freeway through one of the neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. in the 1960s. The court ruling which found that planning commissions needed to take into account the residents' rights when building in a neighborhood; Other projects the neighborhood cooperated on.

Comments on the social nature of music. How the author listens to popular music to understand his students better; The healing power of music; How music can transcend its lyrics; Why people latch on to particular pieces of music.