The Princetonian reports that Drew Faust is on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world, a list in which "Princeton connections are scattered throughout."

But of course Faust did not go to Princeton. So why is she on the list?

Faust comes from a long line of Princetonians, including former University presidents Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr. When Faust was applying to colleges in the 1960s, the University did not accept female students.

That's pretty bad writing, because I can't tell if Faust's line of former Princetonians includes Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr, or if Jonathan Edwards and Aaron Burr are simply two former Princetonians.

But I think the suggestion is that if Princeton had accepted women in the 1960s, then Faust would have gone there.... (Her father went to Princeton.) Interesting to think how things might have turned out differently if Faust hadn't gone to Bryn Mawr.

Here's what else the Princetonian has to say:

Recently tapped as the first female president of Harvard, she will succeed Lawrence Summers, who stepped down following a firestorm of controversy for comments in early 2005, in which he suggested that the dearth of women in the sciences might be due to "innate differences" between the genders.

Note the ubiquitous causality here: Summers makes offensive comments, boom, he resigns. Of course, we all know it didn't really happen that way.....