The January 7, 2005 edition of the
Chronicle for Higher Education included predictions from some academics around the country. In keeping with the spirit of back to school week, here are some of their predictions in quiz form. Match the prediction with the academic.
You may now turn your papers over...
- The Bush administration will seriously self-destruct...There will be more desertions from the armed forces, and more protests from soldiers in the field about the wisdom and morality of their mission.
- The chances of privatizing Social Security in 2005 are nil.
- [A]n attack on an American city is more likely than not in the decade ahead, absent a radical departure from current policy and practice. By that I mean at least 51 percent likely. for the year ahead, I will therefore predict that the likelihood of a nuclear terrorist attack is 7 percent.
- Iraqis will elect a Shiite-dominated parliament, which will set about crafting a constitution...The new Iraqi constitution will enshrine Islamic personal-status law as the law of the land, in such a way as to set back women's rights.
- A family-friendly Super Bowl halftime show will feature a clown making balloon animals, interrupted by commercials offering easy and practical solutions to erectile dysfunctions.
A. Robert J. Thompson, Syracuse University
B. Juan R. Cole, University of Michigan
C. Howard Zinn, Boston University
D. Graham T. Allison, Harvard University
E. Teresa Ghilarducci, University of Notre Dame
So what do you think? Do these folks know of what they speak or do they need to get out of their Ivory Towers and breathe some real air?