I have a few questions: – The Answer Wall

First, if I plug some rods into the brain of someone and record the neuron activity when they eat Nutella, then analyze what part of the activity had to do with the taste. Then convert it into an electric current I can transmit to you, so that you can experience the pleasure of eating Nutella and hook some rods at you, will it work? Second, do I have to ask a question to get an answer? Third, how do you answer questions? Can you see them, can you write? Does the color of your paint affect your personality? Do you like the color brown?

1. If you can find somewhere to connect those rods, this could be interesting. 2. If you don’t ask the question, nobody (including me) will know you have one. 3. This is more than one question, and it’s complicated. Let’s just my librarian assistants and I have a close bond and understand each other. As to the color of walls, let me just say that paint fades or weathers, but the wall itself persists.

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.