Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
Keep on Commuting
April 5, 2022
Gino McTuff’s journey to the library
March 29, 2022
It’s add-drop season, so before profs start slamming students with endless readings, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Musicians Collective gathered in La Vitrola on Jan. 10 to kick off the Winter semester. The Plateau/Mile End vibe was strong that night: Blundstones, Radiohead, and cheap beer were plentiful.
Founded in 2010, the SSMU Musicians Collective connects independent musicians within the McGill community.
“We initially started as a club of jammers, but since we got SSMU funding a few years back [in 2012], we’ve been able to expand,” President Michael Kalman told the The McGill Tribune.
The first performer, Elliot Sinclair, better known under his stage moniker Alright, Lights, began the show with his solo act. Standing alone onstage, Sinclair quickly proved his capabilities as both a lyricist and guitarist. Reminiscent of Bahamas and Jeff Buckley, Sinclair breezed through his lovely “Infatuation,” into an alternative take on D’Angelo’s “Greatdayndamornin'/Booty.”
The SSMU Musicians Collective also saw the last performance of McGill band Matty Parker, as frontman James Parm is leaving for Asia. Backed by Michael Abraham, Ethan Cohn, and Greg Kustka-Tsimbidis, Matty Parker is a self-proclaimed “nothing band that will likely split up soon due to internal conflict.” Matty Parker draws heavily on Radiohead, the Pixies, and Sparklehorse. Standout tracks included originals “Drinking in Denial,” and “Stolen Stuff.” Each song bellows and contracts; crescendos are followed by both restrained emptiness and triumphant sounds..
Besides creating a performance platform for student musicians, the Collective organizes various open mics and workshops. They also plan to host bi-monthly jam sessions in the Collective’s space located in the sub-basement beneath Gerts in the SSMU building. This same space can be booked out for up to six hours, no charge, for private use. Kalman also hinted at workshops this semester, including an electronic music production workshop in the upcoming months.
The Corks played last, with a bluesy rock sound that occasionally teeters towards funk. They brought a well-needed bolt of lightning to the venue. Singer Sacha Gubany, all curly hair and unrefined enthusiasm, led the four-piece along with Jonathan Verreault on the drums, Philippe Moison on guitar, and Vincent Lambert on bass for an altogether energetic set. Songs like “Take Me Home” proved to be not only excellently crafted and performed, but insanely catchy.
Near the end of the night, the crowd had gathered together near the front of the stage, begging The Corks for an encore. They obliged. If anything, Wednesday’s concert highlighted the extensive musical talent that is often forgotten at McGill. More than just an academic institution, there is a huge pool of musical capability that, with the help of the Musician’s Collective, is reaching a broader audience. This semester, dare to venture out of the conventional music scene and take a peek at what your classmates are creating. Who knows, maybe the guy behind you in your chemistry lecture has a wavy dream-pop band. Check it out sometime—you’ll be surprised.
Shoes don’t often scream your name from across a crowded room. Unlike the peacockish hat, the ostentatious bifocal, or the presumptuous earring, the humble shoe does not boisterously salute you at eye-level. Often concealed, or at least partially so, by a brashly uncuffed pant leg, shoes maintain a measured distance from gaudy exhibition. Enter into the equation Montreal’s snowy winter climate, and practical concerns can obscure even the faintest memory of the elegance footwear can offer.
Every once in a blue moon, however, a pair of shoes saunters into your life and changes everything.
I present to you: Armie Hammer’s shoes in Call Me By Your Name (2017).
Wow! Look at those things. The shoes.
One more time. (Enlarged for detail)
Seemingly eons removed from previous appearances sporting bad earmuff things (2012’s The Social Network) and as a black car (2017’s Cars 3), Hammer’s CMBYN look exudes a sensuous bravado befitting his character’s strapping confidence.
With a billowy Ralph Lauren shirt unbuttoned to reveal a Star of David chain dangling between chest hairs, and short khaki shorts fastened with a brown leather woven belt, Oliver’s (Hammer) wardrobe introduces the American exchange student before he even has the chance to make you blush with a (probably really firm) handshake.
Call Me By Your Name is visually gorgeous across the board, but these shoes are just plain unfair.
I wasn’t alive in 1983, when CMBYN is set. I guess I also don’t know if these shoes were the 1980s cool-dude-norm. I do know that I will never purchase a pair of Converse after seeing Armie Hammer and his shoes in this movie. They’d look dumb on my stupid feet. Can you even buy Converse that look like that anymore? What happened between 1983 and now that can explain Converse going from Oliver’s bombastic elegance to this? (edit: I guess a lot of things)
Maybe it's a gay movie for straight people. Maybe it’s problematic to laud an idyllic queer film when as a culture we have repeatedly dismissed more confrontational queer cinema. Maybe these questions would be better addressed by someone less fixated on one very specific detail of the movie.
Watch the dance scene, a focal point for many critics’ praise of CMBYN. Watch it a few times if needed, you earned it. Put it on 1080p. Turn off nightshift. Shoes are visible from approximately 0:02-0:06. Though exhilaratingly brief, this is perhaps the best look we get at the shoes throughout the movie. Shuffling and kicking to the Psychedelic Furs’ 1982 hit “Love My Way,” the shoes seem to refuse the normative constraints of rhythm or tempo. Paired with classic red striped gym socks, Oliver’s below-knee outfit presents a tattered, sexy American flag, not staked in some Midwestern lawn, but sashaying across a cracked granite Mediterranean dance floor.
For a long, forgettable stretch of the movie, Oliver ditches the Converse for some brown, low-heel, slip-on shoes. I don’t remember much from these scenes. Thankfully, in his final moments on-screen, the shoes make a triumphant, if heartbreaking, reappearance.
This isn’t to take anything away from such classics as Buggin Out’s scuffed Jordan IV’s in Do The Right Thing, Bruce Lee’s Yellow Onitsuka Tigers in Game of Death (later homaged in Kill Bill), or Bill Murray’s adidas Roms in The Life Aquatic (or his Air Wovens in Lost in Translation for that matter). I have heard compelling arguments for Forrest Gump’s Nike Cortezes. But Armie Hammer’s CMBYN Converse make these shoes, and all other shoes, or boots, or clogs, for that matter, look like Skechers Breathable Lightweights.
I walked out of CMBYN barefoot, carrying my shoes before they clunked into the garbage can. The snow was cold, and the road salt burned, but a numbness quickly set in that dulled the pain long enough for me to get home. I quickly disposed of mine and my roommates' remaining footwear in our kitchen garbage. I don’t deserve to wear shoes. To try and place myself even in the same arena as Armie Hammer in CMBYN. I’m missing class. I haven’t left my apartment in days. I overheard my roommate calling my parents about me and my “really weird and uncomfortable Arm and Hammer thing” the other day. These feet are a prison. Shoes are the guards. Armie Hammer in CMBYN is my lone weekly phone call. Or something. I don’t know. No one understands. Help
‘Journalism After Gaza’ panel discusses media bias and the future of reporting in Palestine
April 26, 2026
Winter 2026 report card: On-campus dining
April 7, 2026
Finding home in Montreal
April 7, 2026
Amid the many innovative businesses clustered in the Mile End neighbourhood, Drogheria Fine has managed to stand out for nearly a decade. The quaint family-owned gnocchi restaurant has grown increasingly popular among locals and tourists alike. Located on Fairmount Avenue and Clark Street, the small window shop, known for its $5 gnocchi served in take-out boxes, offers a remarkably satisfying meal for the everyday student and passerby.
What makes Drogheria Fine unique is its limited menu: It only serves one dish—potato gnocchi cooked in traditional, homemade tomato sauce. According to Rosie Scalia, an employee at the shop, their specialization in a single product has helped them perfect the recipe, and ultimately led them to their success.
“It all started because [owner Franco Gattuso and his family owned a few] restaurants, and then […] eventually the restaurants closed down and [Gattuso] wanted to do something different,” Scalia said. “So he decided to take the one product that everyone really liked and just do that, which was the tomato sauce.”
The shop operates as a window counter during warmer months, often prompting a long lineup on the sidewalk. During the winter, however, Drogheria Fine moves indoors, transforming into a small single-room franchise. Inside the venue, the tantalizing smell of fresh gnocchi cooking on a stove against the shop window welcomes customers. The walls are lined with jars of tomato sauce, striking in quantity and aesthetic. In fact, to Scalia, it’s actually the tomato sauce—not the gnocchi—that keeps the business going.
“[The tomato sauce] has priority,” Scalia said. “We’re here at 6 a.m. every day [and] don’t serve gnocchi before 12 p.m. because we [are focused on] the production of the tomato sauce. From 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. though, there’s usually someone in the front to sell it with the gnocchi. I [prepare] about 250 to 300 jars of tomato sauce a day.”
According to Scalia, the affordable price, easily-transportable container, and incredible taste, have led Drogheria Fine’s gnocchi to rise in popularity around the Mile End—particularly among the vibrant student community. Their unique method of cooking the dish is another key aspect to its success.
“Gnocchi is an extra [that] introduces people to the tomato sauce, [which, in turn,] teaches people how to cook their gnocchi,” Scalia explains. “Most people boil their gnocchi, but our secret is that we’ll cook [them] directly in the sauce so you can control the temperature and texture.”
With its unquestionable attraction, popular location, and delicious gnocchi-tomato sauce combination, it comes as no surprise that this small shop has become a must-visit destination.
Esteban Herpin, U3 Finance with a double minor in Economics and Political Science, is running unopposed for the office of Vice-President (VP) Finance of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), following the resignation of Arisha Khan in November 2017. Herpin was formerly a member of the Management Undergraduate Society’s (MUS) Corporate Relations team, where he negotiated and drafted legal agreements and oversaw MUS accounts, and was previously a member of SSMU’s Francophone Affairs Committee.
Herpin’s platform involves increasing financial transparency, improving access to club funding, emphasizing sustainable investments, and reaffirming SSMU’s responsibility to positively impact students in lieu of perpetuating political divisiveness. Herpin hopes to alleviate the strain that the University Centre’s scheduled closure has placed on clubs and independent student groups (ISGs), and to increase funding for SSMU’s mental health resources. He also plans to reduce expenditures in SSMU’s operating budget.
The McGill Tribune endorses Herpin’s candidacy, but with significant reservations. Many of his platform promises are well-intentioned and identify important issues. Financial transparency has been historically imperfect at SSMU; the society failed to produce its 2016-2017 budget report. Applications for club funding are lengthy and convoluted, discouraging clubs and ISGs from pursuing essential funding. Despite SSMU’s attempts to provide interim accommodation, many clubs and ISGs remain vulnerable to the costs of the University Centre’s upcoming closure. Herpin has had firsthand experience with club funding applications and intends to streamline the process.
Although Herpin’s platform reflects general student demands, he has failed to outline concrete plans to achieve them. He did not specify which components of club funding should be simplified, nor did he specify which SSMU expenditures or investments to cut, despite having an interest in lower student costs. It is also unclear what capacity the VP Finance has to alleviate the costs of the building closure. In addition, Herpin did not meet with the returning SSMU executives prior to his campaign.
Should Herpin be elected as VP Finance, he may pursue a positive and constructive agenda, help alleviate the workload on other executives, and fulfill important tasks, such as setting the 2018-2019 budget. However, his lack of concrete plans and knowledge of the VP Finance portfolio mean that there will be a significant learning curve during his short four-month tenure if elected. It is essential that he develop a more robust set of solutions to the issues outlined in his platform in order to have the greatest impact on SSMU.
Critics must balance linguistic priorities with human impact when discussing Air Canada’s faux pas
April 7, 2026
The pattern behind Hassan’s denial of entry
April 7, 2026
When I first read Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens’ call for “hygiene de vie” in the McGill Reporter, I immediately thought of medieval physicians. “Eating well, sleeping well, being physically active”—all of these practices recommended by Dyens were also popular prescriptions from the medieval medical community, which would often recommend regimes that are surprisingly analogous to the habit-based “healthy living” that is so prevalent today. Physicians of the 12th century recommended broad lifestyle changes as the primary form of therapy to keep the body in balance.
This is not to say that McGill students are faced with a potential resurrection of medieval medical theory. But, just like those of the Middle Ages, when popular thought favoured categorical thinking for all areas of life including the body, today’s regimen-based health practices have emerged for cultural reasons. In the modern era, these roots are troubling.
The 21st century has seen the reinvention of the body as a project, optimized through the application of “healthy living” and “self-care.” The problem with this vision of health is twofold: First, these concepts depend on and are fueled by consumerism, as those who wish to be healthier are bombarded with products promising their betterment. Second, seeing the body as something to be perfected validates individual, subjective opinions over the medical consensus on best health practices.
Self-care’s modern iteration has its roots in activism and community, specifically in Black feminist movements. Activist and writer Audre Lorde defines self-care as a “political warfare.” Implicit in this politicized definition is the idea that self-care benefits both the individual and the community. The marginalized individual, whose body and labour are traditionally deprioritized, focuses care inward. In doing so, she becomes a healthier individual, and this allows her to participate in her community without burning out.
However, these radical beginnings are not apparent in self-care’s most visible manifestations today. The languages of advertising and of self-care have converged, as brands conflate the phrase “self-care” with “treating oneself to a new product.” In this environment, lifestyle blog Into the Gloss can publish a flippant article called “Maximum Self-Care: The 10-Hour Facial,” peppered with produce recommendations. Goop provides a similar regimen for office workers. Meanwhile, exercise brands like Lululemon advertise “seamless leggings, bras, and tops that remove distractions so you can focus on you.” The message is clear: Care requires consumption, and it is unachievable without brands and products.
Individualized self-care becomes even more dangerous when it is paired with health. The health or skincare regimen lifestyle is increasingly turned into a comprehensive set of lifestyle prescriptions. Dyens’ recommendation of “hygiene de vie” for overstressed students is only one example. Equating self-care with medical therapy can result in such absurdities as veganism as a cure for depression, or idealized “superfoods” that are purported to fight cancer, aging, weight gain, and any number of other maladies. Such rhetoric prioritizes subjective choices over therapies prescribed by professionals, and places the onus of health completely on a person and their lifestyle choices.
The personalization of health requires one to take responsibility for their own care, but it also allows the individual to cherry-pick the methods that they use. Self-care regimens have endured for hundreds of years because they are a valuable component of maintaining total health, but in overly focusing on the individual, they now conflate health with consumerism and self-indulgence.
The body does not exist in a vacuum. It is not enough to focus one’s personal notion of care inward. Bodies are the lenses through which people interact with their surroundings; therefore, a person’s conceptualization of their body shapes not only their ideas of self, but their worldview. Individualism, collectivism, alienation, connection—they all begin with the body. Only by placing our bodies, and the ways we care for those bodies, within a community context can we truly thrive.
Parc-Extension tenants rally against abusive rent hikes, demanding effective rent control
April 7, 2026
Black Sisterhood at McGill targeted with online racist harassment
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At its first meeting of 2018 on Jan. 11, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council discussed accusations of sexual assault and harassment in the Faculty of Dentistry reported by the CBC. SSMU Indigenous Affairs Commissioner Carlee Kawinehta Loft also guest spoke on the topic of legislative reform, and Nikolas Dolmat sat in his role as the speaker for the first time.
Joshua Chin, the 2016-2017 student senator for Medicine and former de-facto representative for Dentistry, brought Council’s attention to a CBC report describing an allegation by a former McGill student that a dentist in the Faculty of Dentistry sexually assaulted her at an appointment in November 2016. The report also covers students’ ongoing claims about experiencing various forms of harassment from professors and staff in the faculty, and notes that the accused dentist was allowed to return to work after a short investigation by McGill.
“Unfortunately I don’t have much to say [about the sexual assault allegation] because I don’t know [the survivor],” Chin said. “[However], there is a second report of bullying and harassment corroborated by many students who I have spent hours speaking with in my capacity as a Senator from Medicine last year. There is a serious management and accountability problem here. Students do not feel safe coming forward with allegations or [expressing] concerns.”
Dentistry Representative Nishath Syed was not present at Council, but Medicine Representative André Lametti responded that the Medical Students’ Society was aware of the situation and had offered its support to the Dental Students' Society. SSMU Vice-President (VP) External Connor Spencer added that the Our Turn movement has an ongoing campaign to address instances of sexual violence at McGill.
“The Our Turn task force has been struck, and I’ve sent emails to every one of the faculties asking for faculty representatives,” Spencer said. “The task force will look at rape culture in each one of the faculties and examine what is being done to counter or address the culture of sexual harassment in them.”
Loft and other members of the SSMU Indigenous Affairs Committee presented on the importance and implications of land acknowledgements and the committee’s role at McGill. According to Loft, the group serves as a consultative and decision-making body which collaborates with students and community groups and oversees the implementation of the Indigenous Solidarity Policy.
“Indigenous issues are really interwoven with any event or issue you may be considering on campus,” Loft said. “But we offer consultations so you can get an integrative approach to solidarity, not put all of the onus on another group.”
The committee also announced the Indigeneity and Solidarity Event Series, which will occur throughout this semester to educate students of all backgrounds on Indigenous identity and support both at McGill and beyond.
At the suggestion of the Executive Committee, Council discussed the possibility of forming a review committee to consult students and create a strategic plan and referendum for governance reform in 2018. Council also debated whether increasing public availability of government documents such as the SSMU Constitution, which was discussed last semester, should be included in the process.
“[The strategic plan will address] the questions that were raised at Executive Committee,” SSMU President Muna Tojiboeva said. “How do students engage with SSMU? How is harm perpetuated by and in SSMU and how is harm addressed?”
Spencer acknowledged that the plan might be insufficient, but maintained the importance of starting a process toward change that could withstand SSMU’s fundamental lack of institutional memory.
“Yes, it is a huge project […] but we need to start somewhere,” Spencer said. “We might as well start now while we have a team of people that’s actually committed to doing this work, because we don’t know who will be here next year.”
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the Medical Students’ Society (MSS) had offered its support to the Faculty of Dentistry. In fact, MSS had offered its support to the Dentistry Students' Society. The Tribune regrets this error.
Critics must balance linguistic priorities with human impact when discussing Air Canada’s faux pas
April 7, 2026
The pattern behind Hassan’s denial of entry
April 7, 2026
Triggering language—including terms that provoke traumatic memories or harmful thoughts—endangers the mental well-being of people with conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety. While it is impossible to fully avoid upsetting words in day-to-day life, trigger-free spaces are crucial for providing solace and protecting mental health.
However, as Internet users know, the unmonitored and unpredictable nature of online content means there are no guaranteed Internet safe spaces. In response to this issue, McGill Engineering student Angus McLean, and his University of Ottawa partner Nikola Draca, developed a Google Chrome extension called Soothe that blurs out triggering content from users’ internet browsers.
So far, the response from both test clients and the media has been positive. Given the usual controversy surrounding trigger warnings and safe spaces, the enthusiastic reviews are a surprise. However, with Internet use as such an integral part of daily life, apps like Soothe are a logical next step in promoting mental health and well-being.
Although websites such as Facebook and Twitter already allow users to block individual words from their feeds, Soothe goes further. The app uses sentiment analysis, an algorithm programmed with a list of terms that it locates in sentences. If Soothe detects words from the list, it scans sentence contexts and blurs out material that could be triggering. For example, homophobic, racist, sexist, transphobic, or violent language can be blocked depending on user preferences. The app is particularly relevant on university campuses, where mental health concerns, such as anxiety, are increasingly recognized. It protects students who are often required to spend hours on the Internet daily, potentially running into triggering and harmful content.
In other cases where content censoring has been suggested in the interest of mental health, such as student petitions for trigger warnings for readings at University of Santa Barbara and Oberlin College, promoters have faced tremendous backlash. Professors at Oberlin College rejected the proposed trigger warnings, stating that they needed to challenge students and make them feel uncomfortable as part of their education. In another instance, an app similar to Soothe, called Silencer, aimed to make online news feeds more positive by removing certain words. It too faced criticism from users who argued that ignoring bad news isn’t a sustainable solution to people’s problems.
Although avoiding material that challenges one’s political views may pose little benefit, avoiding hate speech and microaggressions is entirely different. A major distinction must be made between controversial content that makes someone feel uncomfortable, and content that compromises mental well-being by triggering harmful thoughts or forcing someone to relive a traumatic past experience. The latter is what Soothe aims to block. Additionally, with Soothe, users only block pages in their own browsers and can uninstall the app anytime—content is not being censored from the public but simply for users’ own private use. The goal is safeguarding their mental health, not turning a blind eye to controversy.
Another critique of trigger warnings comes from a psychological standpoint: Some argue that avoiding triggers can exacerbate mental health issues. When considering this, one must recognize that Soothe’s users are not trying to avoid offensive content altogether—in an age of unprecedented communication and information-sharing, that’s impossible. But they can use the app to create one reliable, relatively-safe haven from it. Moreover, the unmonitored and often extreme or offensive nature of online content means that people do not have the option to choose how they come in contact with upsetting materials like they would in real-life interactions. Soothe empowers users with mental health concerns to interact positively with the Internet by allowing them to choose whether or not they encounter distressing material. With large aspects of school work, jobs, and recreation centering around the internet, feeling at-risk every time you open your laptop is a massive burden to bear. Apps like Soothe are vital for facilitating mental health while encouraging everyone to take full advantage of Internet resources.
Given Soothe’s consistently positive feedback, the market for this app and similar services seems to be on the rise. Moving forward, McLean and Draca want to enable Soothe to block images and video in addition to text. The Chrome extension is also designed to be adaptable and will allow users to flag new terms not initially considered by its creators. This app is an important tool for empowering people to enjoy the Internet without risking their mental well-being.
In 2003, a man created a film that came to be known as the best worst movie of all time: The Room, written and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who also stars. Despite its lackluster premiere and absence of a theatrical release, it has garnered a cult following complete with midnight screenings, and cosplays. Years later, James Franco—the latest abuser to face the post-Weinstein reckoning—became enamored with the film. The Disaster Artist, produced, directed by, and starring Franco, is partly based on The Room, but primarily tells the story of a memoir by the same name. Written by Wiseau’s costar Greg Sestero, The Disaster Artist details his journey to Hollywood, his inexplicable friendship with Wiseau, and the difficulties of creating The Room—a film so uniquely terrible that it turned Wiseau into a cultural phenomenon.
Fans of the book might find themselves disappointed with the tone and plot of the film. It tries to make Wiseau look good and often undercuts how truly horrific The Room’s production was. As the memoir documents, Wiseau funneled millions (from unknown sources) into useless details, constantly humiliated and spied on the actors and the production crew, refused to provide them with basic necessities, and fired at least half of them before production concluded. Franco acknowledges very few of these moments, instead presenting Wiseau as a mad, yet miraculously inspired genius.
The book tells Sestero’s personal story as he worked with Wiseau and other actors to make the movie a success. The film shifts Sestero’s role and turns him into an audience stand-in. Despite being relegated to the role of the naïve pseudo-narrator, Dave Franco plays Sestero with the same charm that he brings to all his roles, and the Franco brothers’ dynamic wonderfully echoes Sestero and Wiseau’s real-life friendship.
James Franco’s performance is absolutely the highlight of the movie, as he dons a long, ratty, raven-black wig, shadowy makeup, face prosthetics, and several large belts wrapped around his legs. His pitch-perfect imitation of Wiseau’s almost-constantly-drunken demeanor and confusing accent turns the film’s otherwise grounded, somewhat depressing drama into a surreal comedy, as one cannot help but chuckle whenever he opens his mouth.
However, despite Franco’s performance, The Disaster Artist deliberately avoids tackling Wiseau’s more vicious moments. The film addresses a fraction of the many recorded instances of Wiseau’s abusive behaviour, and while Sestero constantly highlights his bizarre narcissism, Franco seems to suggest that this is only one layer of an eccentric genius. His choice clearly illustrates to the audience that his movie is not an adaptation of Sestero’s book but an homage to the uniquely endearing 2003 film and Wiseau himself. He’s not so much a person as a caricature, and Franco’s clear affection for the character conflicts with and undercuts Wiseau’s abusive behaviour. Here’s hoping the Academy doesn’t treat Franco like Franco treats Wiseau.
The Disaster Artist presents the antithesis to the most common Oscar-bait narrative—the struggles of being an artist in Hollywood and creating a masterpiece—and tells the story of a man who utterly failed as a filmmaker, but managed to turn his horrifying creation into a phenomenon. James Franco’s Golden Globes’ hypocrisy, accumulating sexual assault allegations, and pathetic non-apology are deplorable. The movie is funny, harsh, poignant, and uplifting, but at its core, is a film by an abuser celebrating an abuser.
How can I show you I’m doing better if there’s nothing good for me to do?
April 13, 2026
Your health, your problem
April 8, 2026
On becoming Chinese
March 30, 2026
We live in a perpetual state of misinformation. In 2016, Oxford Dictionaries selected “post-truth” as its word of the year, an adjective “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” In 2017, Collins Dictionary chose “fake news” as its word of the year.
With society’s need and capacity for constant innovation and new discoveries, the scientific world has witnessed a significant increase in published research in the past 30 years—roughly nine per cent per year. The advent of the internet has boosted the availability of information and, in its wake, a variety of online journals have emerged; some willing to publish just about any research. The increasing use of social media aiding the spread of information combined with a genuine misunderstanding of statistics create the perfect recipe for mass misinformation.
In the digital age, not a day seems to go by without someone using debatable numbers to support even more debatable conclusions. Research, it seems, has become a race to publish, in which quality plays a role that is only secondary to recognition and discovery. The misleading statistics and false results published by academic sources and the media are often celebrated as “discoveries.”
Shared from person to person, with no apparent source, erroneous statistics manage to make it onto everybody’s Facebook and Twitter feeds, and even slip into conversations. Yet, nobody seems to know where these statistics come from—and whether or not they are actually true. Even reputable articles, that can be found both online and in the physical press, use an impressive amount of numbers to seemingly validate their claims—yet fail to cite any respected source or expert.
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