Careless about words

HARVARD PRESIDENT Lawrence Summers's words are broadcast far and wide, and are subjected to intense analysis. Provocative is not something you have to ask him to be, and he apparently has not yet discovered that he is never just "Larry" or "a brilliant economist," he is "the president of Harvard University." And, if his words are not chosen with extraordinary care, the progress he is so committed to achieving will be brought to a halt by the turmoil he creates with ill-chosen words ("Summers's remarks on women draw fire," Page A1, Jan. 17).

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There is irony in this because Summers, as an economist, is a data-driven thinker. But his style seems to be to throw out a controversial idea as a catalyst for discussion and research and expect others to modify or disprove it, not realizing that his words may come across as hurtful to many who see him as a leader.

Let's hope that as a result of the current controversy, he will foster major research and initiatives to suppport the success of women in academia.

SEAN PALFREY
Cambridge