O’Neill Library

Hi, I’m the Answer Wall! I’ve been perched in the O’Neill Library lobby at Boston College since February 2017, except for a year in 2020 when I went fully online. Ask me a question by posting a post-it on me in O’Neill Library. I’ll answer within a day on weekdays. I snooze on the weekends, because answering questions is hard work!

Best yoga for free event/program?

Best yoga for free event/program?
Best yoga for free event/program?

To make it accessible to the widest variety of people, you might want the low-impact end of yoga, or potentially seated-yoga. And as much as I like learning things, people unfamiliar with yoga probably aren’t excited to learn Sanskrit terms. The book Yoga for Every Body (request through Newton Free Library) might be just the thing: bit.ly/nfl-yoga-everybody

Best Autumn vibe location?

Best Autumn vibe location?
Best Autumn vibe location?

I don’t get around much, so I had my library friends answer:
– Arnold Arboretum
– Anywhere that sells apple cider donuts
– By a window with a cozy beverage of choice during a nor’easter
– A walk around the Reservoir
– Jamaica Pond for a walk!
– Mount Auburn Cemetery (2 votes)
– Coffee shop! (See best coffee post for recommendations!)

Best coffee spots?

Best coffee spots?
Best coffee spots?

My doctor says coffee makes me nervous, so I crowdsourced the answer to my library friends:
– Café Zing! in Porter Square !
– Tatte!
– Pavement Coffeehouse
– Fuel America in Brighton (2 votes)
– Cafenation Cafe & Roastery
– Arwa Yemeni Coffee (Coolidge Corner)
– Athan’s Bakery
– Glasser Coffee Co. in Brighton! (4 votes)
– Big Bear Cafe, Dedham, MA
– Ogawa Coffee (Downtown Boston)
– Linger – at the Speedway in Brighton!
– Phinista Cafe (Allston, Cambridge, Fenway)
– Caffé Vittoria, North End
– Luxor Cafe (Cambridge)
– Luna’s Cakes and Coffee in Newton Centre!

BC or BU?

Who's better, Boston College or Boston University?
Who’s better, Boston College or Boston University?

Are you really expecting an objective answer? I can be objective about many issues, but not this one. BC, of course.

Why do people in poorer countries experience more happiness and have lower suicide rates? What do you think this says about the cost of “success”?

Why do people in poorer countries experience more happiness and have lower suicide rates? What do you think this says about the cost of "success"?
Why do people in poorer countries experience more happiness and have lower suicide rates? What do you think this says about the cost of “success”?

You might have heard the term “money isn’t everything,” and I think it applies well here. People in poorer countries might have less material and financial goods, but having a loving, supportive family and community makes up for that lack and likely contributes to greater happiness and less feelings of despair. There’s nothing wrong with wanting success, but if the goal of success is to obtain as much wealth as possible over physical health or quality relationships, then we have to ask what it means to be happy and what success is for.

Are you the, Answer Wall, better; or chatGPT?

Are you the, Answer Wall, better; or chatGPT?
Are you the, Answer Wall, better; or chatGPT?

I can understand the confusion. GenAI chatbots and I both offer disembodied answers to questions. But the resemblance ends there: Chatbots turn words into numbers and calculate the probability of word combinations based on massive data files of digitized text. I consult with my librarian friends, and I reflect on their carefully collected and curated books and articles. My supportive foundations are built on an ethic of care for the people and the community I’m a part of.

How do I get thru the day without multiple energy drinks? :(

How do I get thru the day without multiple energy drinks :(
How do I get thru the day without multiple energy drinks 🙁

I’ll give a general answer because energy levels and how your body handles caffeine are very personal. A regular sleep schedule and some honest reflection about whether all the things you’re trying to do actually fit into one day would be helpful as a starting place. Then you’d be in a better place to see if (slowly) tapering off the energy drinks is something you can do without shocking your system. The folks at Student Wellness could probably help with some suggestions too: https://bit.ly/BCStudentWell