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Because of an editing error, “The Less You Know” [Readings, June], an abridged transcript of a December 19, 2005, telephone conversation between Bernard Madoff and executives of the Fairfield Greenwich Group (FGG), mistakenly suggested that FGG permitted Madoff to remove funds directly from its accounts. The edited transcript also erroneously implied that Madoff was operating FGG’s fund. Furthermore, the Fairfield Greenwich Group has advised Harper’s Magazine that it was at the time of the conversation fully cooperating with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that it notified the SEC about the phone call and all aspects of the conversation with Madoff. We regret the errors.


Years of consideration preceding the inclusion of the word “phat” in Random House’s 1996 Compact Unabridged Dictionary:

Scientists created crash helmets that stink when cracked and fruit flies to whom blue light smells delicious.

In Belize, a construction company bulldozed a 2,300-year-old Mayan temple to make road fill.
“This is the heart of the magic factory, the place where medicine is infused with the miracles of science, and I’ve come to see how it’s done.”