But Scarry shot back with a long list of experts she had consulted on the subject--engineers, military personnel and prior studies. The New York Review of Books had edited her article three times before publication. It was the longest article the Review had ever agreed to print.

"I think that if you see something wrong, there's no job you could hold that would relieve you of the responsibility of speaking up about it," she says. "Being in the English department doesn't relieve me of that responsibility…I think Locke said, 'The surest way to stop thinking is to only read in one field.'"

The article and the media attention were enough to convince the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which was investigating the crash, to consider the possibility of electromagnetic interference. The board has directed the Joint Spectrum Center and the National Aeronatics and Space Administration (NASA) to look into the matter.

Although the final results of the NASA study have not yet been released, Scarry says she is satisfied that the electromagnetic spectrum is now being considered in that investigation.

But she is not content yet. She says that in the case of two more recent crashes--Swissair 111 and Egypt-Air 990--the electromagnetic spectrum still need to be analyzed.

"The NTSB needs a standing arrangement to examine the external environment immediately after a crash," she says. "I'm not saying that the same thing happened in the two other flights--but that it needs to be investigated."Beautiful People

Beauty is Scarry's major concern for the moment. In 1999, her On Beauty and Being Just argued that there is a correlation between aesthetic pleasure and social responsibility.

Illustrating her points with a smattering of Great Literature, Scarry argues that beauty leads to justice. For Scarry, noticing something that a person knows is beautiful makes them question those things they have overlooked.