In the insulating “parent” materials from which high-temperature superconductors arise, which are typically made of materials containing copper and oxygen, each copper atom has one “free” electron. These electrons, however, are stuck in a Mott insulating state—the quantum traffic jam—and cannot move around. By removing a few of the electrons—a process called “hole doping”—the remaining electrons can start to flow from one copper atom to the next. In essence, this turns the material from an insulator to a metallic state, but one with the startling property that it superconducts—it carries electrical current effortlessly without any losses of energy.

In this case, the judge granted what is called a “springboard” injunction. The idea of a springboard injunction is to prevent employees taking advantage of previous breaches of contract. In this case, the court has granted an interim injunction preventing the ex-employees from dealing with ex-UBS customers and from seeking to persuade any other staff to leave.

The Truman Show delusion, or Truman Syndrome, has drawn attention in recent months, in the United States and Britain, as psychiatrists in both countries describe a small but growing number of psychotic patients who describe their lives as mirroring that of the main character in the 1998 film “The Truman Show.”

Even so, awareness of the new law is so high that Parven Pomper Vice President Alixandria Lapp, for one, made sure to run its reception menu by a lawyer before taking it to the caterers. Under what is known as the “toothpick rule,” a reception can offer only food and refreshment of a nominal value. “We are just following the guidelines of the ethics committee, and we are completely staying within what they have deemed appropriate,” Lapp said.

Ms. Kroll also urges students to search their name on search engines—a practice known as “narcisurfing”—to see what’s in cyberspace for anyone to read.

It’s refreshing to read about a discovery that isn’t just a tiny increment. Today’s scientists are under pressure to publish something new, leading to what some cynically call the LPU, or Least Publishable Unit. You find some new detail and publish it, showing the boss that you’re in a science journal, even though the “discovery” is just a tweak of stuff already known. (Nothing new here. The best description of this is from Kingsley Amis’s Lucky Jim, about a clueless young lecturer desperate for a job in 1950s England.)

Whipsawing is a term for the corporate tactic of pitting employees at one plant against workers at another plant of the same company. Workers who produce similar vehicles or components find themselves in competition to get new work into their plant. When one group of workers agrees, under intense pressure, to certain concessions, the second group will often agree to give up even more to hold on to their jobs. It’s a vicious downward spiral, and only the bosses come out on top.