cognitive psychologist steven pinker highlighted in an article for "the new republic" that "nancy hopkins, the eminent mit biologist and advocate for women in science, stormed out of the room to avoid, she said, passing out from shock. an engineering dean called summers's remarks "an intellectual tsunami" and "a "boston globe" columnist compared him to people who utter racial epithets or wear swastikas." the backlash was so damaging that summers faced a non-confidence vote from the faculty of arts and sciences, prompting his resignation as president.