Kimberly’s Reviews > Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach > Status Update

"If we are to live in a world worth passing on to coming generations, we must seek
harmony between technology and the natural environment. This will not be easy...What is at stake is nothing less than the welfare of planet Earth. Surely this
should be enough to motivate us to make wise choices." pp. 498

"[We're] successful in [convincing] almost everyone to want cultural goals (success such as wealth or prestige). But we are far from successful when it comes to providing everyone access to the institutionalized means (the legitimate ways to success). People who find their way to success blocked can come to see the institutionalized goals (such as working hard or pursuing higher education) as not applying to them."

“Lumpy oatmeal phenomenon” beats the "small world phenomenon": Kleinfeld says, “Rather than living in a small
world, we may live in a world that looks like a bowl of lumpy oatmeal, with many small
worlds loosely connected and perhaps some small worlds not connected at all.” So, the "small world" only exists when referring to Kevin Bacon ("six degrees of Kevin Bacon")