Hot Take? Cold Call.

I’m seated in Sanders Theatre during an Economics 10B: “Introduction to Macroeconomics” lecture and my mind begins to wander. Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I’d wager I was one of the final holdouts.

Professor David I. Laibson ’88 jolts me from my reverie, calling out: “MANSELL! How does a change in the federal funds rate influence the lending behavior of commercial banks and overall economic activity?”

In an instant, I’m spirited back to Sanders Theatre, caught like a deer in headlights.

I had just experienced the dreaded cold call — a blunt tool forged in the furnace of the Socratic method and honed in the cutthroat laboratories of Harvard Business School.

I’ve always considered myself a reformer, never a revolutionary. But I must concede that desperate times call for desperate measures. That’s why I believe it’s time to implement cold calling in every Harvard classroom.

The Crimson Editorial Board recently addressed the attention crisis head-on, arguing that Harvard’s attention problem is a systemic issue undermining the quality of our education, not just individual lapses in focus.

Too often, we let lectures become passive experiences, with our screens acting as barriers to learning. Worse still, our digital distractions disrupt our peers’ focus and render genuine engagement nearly impossible, ultimately shortchanging both ourselves and the professors who dedicate their time and expertise to teaching us.

The current culture isn’t helping. We’ve cultivated an environment where easy classes — so-called “gems” — are treated as hidden treasures, completing readings is seen as a Herculean feat, and classroom “participation” often means little more than occasionally nodding in the lecturer’s general direction.

To reclaim our academic environment, we need to snap out of this collective attention slump. The Editorial Board suggests taking a page from Cambridge Public Schools, which have banned students’ use of cellphones to improve classroom learning.

Sure, that intervention might work, but we Harvard students need a strategy that doesn’t just forestall zoning out — we need one that actively engages us. Enter cold calling.

Professors can’t possibly find it fun to stand at the front of a classroom, lecturing to a sea of complacent students who are more invested in scrolling through screens than absorbing their hard-earned wisdom.

A strategically placed cold call could shatter this dreary atmosphere. Singling out the student whose eyes are most glazed over and hurling an unusually tough question their way sends a clear message: Your texting can wait.

My peers might view cold calling the same way some residents of Allston view Harvard (that is, with skepticism and possibly disdain), but we should recognize that cold calls could actually be a powerful tool for enhancing our learning. By keeping us on our toes, it encourages genuine engagement and critical thinking, transforming lectures into more lively affairs. Knowing we might be called upon fosters a sense of accountability, ensuring we better connect with the material and our professors in a meaningful way.

At the very least, section leaders should begin cold calling in order to fulfill their intended mandate of vigorous discussion.

Charles O. Puth, Jr. once serenaded the nation, singing that he’s “only one call away” and that, when beckoned, he will “be there to save the day.” Well, in our case, it’s academic excellence that’s only one (cold) call away — and it’s high time we pick up the phone.

Isaac R. Mansell ’26, a Crimson Editorial editor, is a Statistics concentrator in Kirkland House