NYU Alumni Magazine

behind the scenes


We’re often told to “live in the present”—that such an outlook leads most assuredly to a healthy, contented life. But living only in the moment has its drawbacks, too. We can forget how the past shaped us and how we hope to shape the future. Dreaming of other ages is one of the most creative impulses we have, and can inspire art, literature, scientific breakthroughs, or even just a pleasant moment of reflection.

The Fall 2013 issue looks both backward and forward in search of a deeper connection to the time in which we’re living. Among the features, “Signed, Sealed, Undelivered” explores the letters of a recently discovered mailbag from 1757 that contains musings remarkably familiar to 21st-century readers. “Forces to Reckon With” reveals the subtle influences everywhere that steer our thoughts, and suggests how we might harness them for the greater good. And “Earth Goes Urban” declares that cities are our future, and imagines how we might make them more functional, equal, healthy places for those who will soon inherit them.

But there are many other stories to whisk you between the past and future, from a look at the (mostly forgotten) young women of the Manhattan Project (“Coming of Atomic Age”) to a truly groundbreaking new substance that instantly stanches blood loss (“Bloody Brilliant”). We hope you share our wonderment for these and all moments in time.

—The NYU Alumni Magazine Team