Empathy is often talked about in popular culture, particularly within the realms of politics, advertising, and psychology. Articles from ‘Why Empathy May Be Your Most Important Business Skill’ to ‘How to Avoid the Empathy Trap’ are popping up all over the internet. Generally, popular culture labels empathy as a positive,[Read More…]
Search Results for author "Morgan Sweeney"
Absurd science names and where they come from
The naming of scientific discoveries can seem, at times, both absurd and random. For example, shmoos, the mating protrusions of yeast, are so named because they look like a 1970s cartoon character. Meanwhile, dominant male elephant seals are called beachmasters and Somniosus microcephalus, the Latin name for the Greenland Shark, literally translates[Read More…]
People are rational—wanna bet?
It’s the final round of Jeopardy! and the stakes are high. Martha wipes a bead of sweat off her face, her fingers descending to trace the pearls around her neck for good luck. Despite holding a bank account several orders of magnitude smaller than her opponent Patricia, both women bet approximately[Read More…]
Love on the brain
Everyone knows the story: Boy meets girl, boy encounters obstacle; they fight to overcome it, but something goes wrong and someone runs away crying. Ultimately, love prevails, they share a passionate kiss, get married, and live happily ever after. This, Hollywood claims, is love. Valentine’s Day is marketed as a[Read More…]
Elementary, my dear Watson
Everything is made of something. Books are made of pages, which are made of paper, which is made of wood. All of these items are made up of molecular complexes that break down into tiny atoms. What differentiates these atoms from one another is the number of subatomic particles, protons[Read More…]
The power of effective studying
Productivity and procrastination: The notorious p-words of finals season. As students pack into libraries like sardines to cram a semester’s worth of information into a few days, final exams seem like the only thing on anyone’s mind. Fortunately, there are ways to make the studying process more effective and less[Read More…]
The microscopic powers in food
Locally-brewed kombucha is all the rage in Montreal; a new brand seems to line the shelves of hipster cafés every week. Kombucha, along with blue cheese, aged meats, and alcohol, are just a fraction of the foods dependent on fermentation. Fermentation occurs when microorganisms break down glucose to make energy[Read More…]
Myers-Briggs’ evolution into the personality gospel
“Throughout college, I was always someone who thought that who you were was a function of what you accomplished,” Merve Emre, associate professor of English at the University of Oxford and author of the book The Personality Brokers, said. Emre, a former assistant professor at McGill, is not alone in[Read More…]
Soup & Science: Heart beats, virus breach, the universe’s history, and environmental sustainability
Held at the beginning of every semester in Redpath Library, Soup and Science is an event unique to McGill during which professors from various science departments summarize their research in a series of three minute presentations. Coincidentally, the event also serves soup. The McGill Tribune sent writers to cover the Fall[Read More…]
Giggle Juice: The science behind booze
A few drinks into one Saturday night in late November, my brother and I made a sacred pact to speak exclusively in freestyle. Walking along the pavement, I giggled as the city spun slightly, my stomach soaring with euphoria. My brother was in what he calls “the happy place”—a state[Read More…]
