University of Sagacity
"Quaerere Quod Alii Neglegunt"
Founded in 1987, the University of Sagacity is dedicated to the rigorous study of questions that fall through the cracks of conventional academia. We investigate what others overlook, analyze what others dismiss, and publish what others wouldn't dare.
*In surveys they actually returned
Our Mission
Traditional institutions focus on the grand questions. We focus on the ones you think about at 2 AM but forget to write down. The ones that feel too small for serious inquiry but too persistent to ignore. The ones that, upon closer examination, reveal profound truths about human nature, social systems, and the fabric of everyday life.
Our interdisciplinary approach brings together scholars who left prestigious positions because they believed that understanding why people say "I'm good" instead of "I'm well" matters just as much as mapping the human genome. Perhaps more.
Featured Research
The Urinal Problem: Optimal Strategies Under Uncertainty
This paper applies game theory to men's restroom behavior, modeling urinal selection as a problem of social distance maximization under spatial constraints. We derive optimal strategies and find that actual human behavior matches theoretical predictions with 89% accuracy.
Read paper →The Semicolon as Class Marker: Punctuation and Social Identity
Analysis of 50,000 professional emails reveals that semicolon usage correlates strongly with educational attainment and weakly with actual grammatical necessity. This paper argues that punctuation choice has become a form of class performance.
Read paper →"I'm Good" vs. "I'm Well": The Grammaticalization of Casual Identity
The shift from "I'm well" to "I'm good" in American English represents more than grammatical drift. This paper examines how the choice between these phrases signals social positioning, finding that conscious "well" usage now marks the speaker as either non-native or performatively educated.
Read paper →Why Sagacity?
Rigorous Methodology
We apply the same statistical rigor to studying elevator button-pressing habits that others apply to particle physics. Every conclusion is peer-reviewed.
Interdisciplinary Approach
Our departments span from Procrastination Studies to Applied Awkwardness. Many of our most cited papers emerge from unexpected collaborations.
Real-World Impact
Our research has influenced waiting room design, email signature conventions, and grocery store checkout lane psychology.
Alumni Voices
"Sagacity taught me that no question is too small. My advisor once told me that the person pressing an already-lit elevator button knows it won't help—and that's precisely what makes it interesting. That perspective changed my entire approach to research."