Amidst all these teary, heartfelt Senior Wisdoms, we bring you an Actual (!) Wisdom from the one and only Associate Dean Jenkins. The “back in my day” is a lot more…back in the day.   Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer. Gladly. I love my partner, my family, and my friends, I care […]

Professor Dorothy Ko (of Barnard’s History and Women’s Studies departments) is a woman of great wit and wisdom – and stories of East Asian cuisine that will make your mouth water. Her actual wisdom brings together all three. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I try to make the people around me happy, and sometimes […]

We tend to see upperclassmen – whether friends, acquaintances, or those we admire from afar – as having all the answers. Sure, seniors have a lot to say, and some of it might actually hold some truth. After all, they have made it through almost four years here at Columbia, and we can assume that […]

The outpouring of actual wisdom continues with Statistics professor Phillip Protter, who talks surprisingly little about statistics and surprisingly a lot about football and coffee houses. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I click to save the world, therefore I am. Claim to fame: I took second in the mile relay for the state […]

With finals bearing down so heavily upon our backs, we could all use a little humor and a little wisdom. J.C. Salyer, term assistant professor in the anthropology department at Barnard, offers both. Also, cats. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I reject the cynical econometrics of your neoliberal biopolitics and its implication that […]

Although we may only have one for you this semester, we bring you an Actual Wisdom from Tom Harford, Columbia professor and Dean of Students for GS. Enjoy. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: To justify my existence, you will need to consult my creator, Dean Peter Awn, who had me designed in a […]

Whoops, *this* is our last Actual Wisdom of 2013. Or is it… Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I don’t really like such existential questions! However, I will fall back on to my Jewish world view and say Tikun Olam (“Repairing the World”). Hopefully I can do that by inspiring students to do amazing […]

For our last Actual Wisdom of 2013, we bring you Jeffrey Lax, who wants you to keep your standards high (yes, even this week). Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Do footnotes count against the limit?  Graphs?  If you can’t read my handwriting, does it count?  I love what I do, hope my enthusiasm […]

Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: If I didn’t exist, neither would you (strictly speaking). It’s all closely connected, you know… Claim to fame: Apart from being the best cigarette roller in the Northern hemisphere? I don’t think I have any claim to fame, though I fear people will remember me as the guy who […]

Next up in the series is Prabhjot Singh, professor of international and public affairs at SIPA, who’s been in the news a bit recently. You could probably find even more wisdom on his Twitter @prabhjotsinghNY. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Bwog, you are like the Sphinx! So I will answer duly: “Make your body […]

We’re officially in the last business week of finals. To remind you why you all came here/get you back to your roots, our Actual Wisdom storyteller tonight is Christia Mercer, a modern day Homer.  Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Why do you think I exist? Claim to fame: Fame is a relative […]

For today’s Actual Wisdom, we have Bruce Robbins, of previous and expansive Bwog fame. You know it’s a good sign when they already have a Bwog tag to their name. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: Justify my existence? Can’t be done. When people all around me are getting stonewalled or downsized, why […]

It’s the weekend! Our suggestion to you on this snowy Saturday is to forgo Butler and curl up in your bed by the window to do your studying as the snow falls. To help you along the path to enlightenment, we bring you the wisdom of Richard Pious, who’s “just a humble professor.” Justify your […]

True wisdom comes when you need it most. Today, Roger Anderson blatantly disregards the 30 words or fewer limit. We’ll forgive him somehow.  Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I aim for a life “well lived”, while pushing the frontiers of science and particularly computational learning. And I know I am leaving a legacy […]

Happy Thursday. For our next Actual Wisdom we bring you Robert Farrauto, who has chosen to answer in all caps. Justify your existence in 30 words or fewer: I AM A HAPPY FATHER, HUSBAND GRANDFATHER AND A TEACHER OF GREAT COLUMBIA STUDENTS. Claim to fame: I REALLY RESPECT AND ENJOY BEING WITH THE STUDENTS AND TEACHING THEM […]