People – The Answer Wall

Why do some people get offended so easily by small things ? And why do some people stand for others people’s ground even if they are so in the wrong.

According to a recent article in Frontiers in Psychology (bit.ly/OffendedCauses), taking offense results from a mix of triggers to one’s honor, self-image and sense of personal values. As for defending other people’s views, some of this may stem from the desire to support a friend (as a wall, I get this), some from the need to save face when you’ve taken a (misguided) stand, and some of you human people just like to be argumentative and stir things up.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.