FYI: Findings

Tweeting with a group of like-minded people on TWITTER means you are likely to use language the same way they do. That’s the ­finding of postdoctoral research associate Sebastian Funk and ­scientists from Royal Holloway, University of London, who discovered that groups of people who form communities on Twitter use their own distinctive languages. The researchers observed that those with similar interests  would misspell words the same way, so Justin Bieber fans were more likely to tweet the misspelling “pleasee.” The study was published in EPJ Data Science in ­February.

In a paper titled “Don’t Come Home, America: The Case Against Retrenchment” in the winter 2012–13 issue of the journal International Security, Professor of ­Politics and International Affairs G. John Ikenberry and co-authors Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth ask whether the United States ought to withdraw from its prominent role as arbiter of world disputes, reversing course after 65 years of top GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. “According to many of the most prominent security-studies scholars — and indeed most scholars who write on the future of U.S. grand strategy — the answer is an unambiguous yes,” the authors note. But they urge continued involvement, saying that the benefits of leadership — including reducing the necessity for our allies to build huge military forces — outweigh the considerable financial costs.