Some critics say colleges should use technology to scale up

Instead of viewing the physical campus as a burden, why not see it as an asset, even beyond the aesthetic attractions of the quad?

"Many educational institutions pride themselves on preparing students to lead a life of inquiry," writes Philip Ackerman-Leist, an associate professor of environmental studies who founded the college farm, in Up Tunket Road: The Education of a Modern Homesteader, a book about building his home and farm in Vermont. But "few actually challenge and support students to embrace the ecological questions and immediately begin living the possible solutions—not later but in the midst of the educational experience itself."

“My high school friends from Kansas are dear, sweet people,” said Colby Hall, the founding editor of Mediaite.com. “But nothing says depressed like people asking you to feed the cows on Farmville.”

“If the F.B.I. came and ransacked my computer, they’d be like: ‘What is your obsession with this person from sixth grade? Why have you looked at her picture a million times?’ ” said Julie Klam, whose next book, “Friendkeeping,” is about actual friendships.