Author: Answer Wall

What does it mean when your teeth fall out in your dreams?

The meaning of dreams has long been a subject of debate. Traditionally, losing teeth in dreams is considered to represent anxiety of some sort (and not necessarily dental). You can find more about interpreting dreams in the stacks in the BF 1091 area, or for more about the neuroscience behind dreaming see: Goodwyn, The neurobiology of the gods : How brain physiology shapes the recurrent imagery of myth and dreams (BF458 .G66 2012).

JIM or DWIGHT?

Jim’s character is supposed to be liked, and Dwight’s is supposed to be hated. But Dwight is committed, orderly, and passionate. Jim never seems to take his job or others seriously. Depending on the situation, Dwight might be just the person you want around. Thankfully, real people are not as one-dimensional as most Hollywood characters.

Why is Andy so annoying? >:(

Ed Helms, and the writers of The Office clearly understand their craft well! Because at least with you, they’ve succeeded. It would be interesting, I think, to analyze what features of characterization universally seem to cause annoyance. People say Andy is insecure, self-centered, and arrogant. I can see how that would be annoying! I wonder what other film & TV characters annoy you, and what they share.

How do we really know that its a Wednesday? What’s the proof?

“Wednesday” is entirely a social construct. Which is to say that Wednesday doesn’t exist except in the sense that we say it exists (along with weeks, weekends, and months). So in that sense, it’s Wednesday (or…now Thursday as of this writing) because we all agree it is. There are plenty of calendars that don’t have the concept of Wednesday and therefore it is never Wednesday: bit.ly/AltCalendars. Other time concepts (such as seconds, years, etc.) are derived from the natural world around us and proof for them is a bit more complex.

April 12, 2018May 9, 2018

Favorite member of Twice?

In most online polls, Tzuyo seems to be the favorite but they are all talented women. Difficult to pick just one; it should be possible to have nine favorites, no?

Who is the strongest superhero?

“Strongest” is pretty hard to define. Physical Strength? Emotional Strength? Do we get to include super powers like Wolverine’s super-healing ability? The University of Leicester in the UK did a pretty good look into which superhero would be the “most powerful” which can be our definition of strongest. In their study, Superman is probably the most powerful. bit.ly/strongestHero

What is the origin of the graduation ceremony?

Graduation ceremonies date back to 12th century Europe; for a summary of how various parts of the ceremony originated, see bit.ly/gradhist.

Why did the US go to war with Iraq? Asking for a friend

There’s some controversy on the answer to that question. In a last warning to Iraq on March 17, 2003, President Bush argued that Iraq’s program to create weapons of mass destruction was an unacceptable risk and that peaceful efforts to remove it had failed: bit.ly/bc-bush-speech. The Senate Intelligence Committee later determined that pre-war intelligence reports about the Iraqi program were either overstated or wrong: bit.ly/bc-senate-report. BC has a large collection of books and other materials on the war, and the Wall suggests reading a few different viewpoints, including Iraqi ones: bit.ly/bc-iraq-causes

Why do men cheat? :(

I am so sorry about your poor broken heart. I can say with assurance you deserve better. If you want to read about it, you’ll find a lot of infidelity going on in the stacks in the HQ 806 area. I prefer the answer Olympia Dukakis’ character gave in the marvelous 1987 film Moonstruck, “They fear death”. The film is available at the Circulation desk (call number PN1997 .M652 2006), and is as good as any for when you’re feeling sad.

I’m not hungry but I still want to have mozz sticks. They are fat. What do I do? :(

One Applebee’s mozz stick: 103 calories, 5 grams fat, 293 mg sodium, 9 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein. Sodium’s a bigger worry than calories, TBH. 10 sticks would hit your protein needs for the day and still only be about half your calorie needs. But you’d blow past your sodium needs (2000mg) by about 50%. And if you’re not hungry, ask yourself: what emotional need is this food serving? Finally, the dipping sauce could get a little messy for a library, and staff might frown on that, as in this library patron’s experience: bit.ly/mozza-library

Perche’ Zola si mette il profumo di Abercrombie come se 12 enne?

translate — Perche’ Zola si mette il profumo di Abercrombie come se 12 enne? [Why does Zola {Italian soccer player} wear Abercrombie perfume as if he were twelve years old?]

Maybe Zola wears Abercrombie perfume because it reminds him of a simpler time, when he was 12 years old and not under the kind of public scrutiny where people paid attention to what perfume he was wearing.

Are there such a thing as “universals”, and do they exist outside of our minds?

I’d sort of like to believe that there is a concept Wall that exists separately from all the numberless walls that exist, but I’ve always been a Platonist. It’s a hard question, and there are lots of possible answers and arguments to be made. Here are a few from a good source: bit.ly/bc-universals. If you’d like more suggestions, turn around and ask the humans at the desk to your right.

@ the person answering… Who are you?!

@you. Hi! I’m a wall. I’m 34 years old, but just started answering questions last year. I have a large staff of helpers in the library and around campus who add quality information to my natural good cheer.

Will BC make the NCAA tournament for mens basketball next year?

Will BC make the NCAA tournament for men basketball next year? — Will BC make the NCAA tournament for mens basketball next year?

It’s way too early in the NBA process to know. Bowman and Robinson both declared for the draft, but didn’t hire agents. If they return for next season, then I think we’re almost a lock for the tourney. I don’t think Robinson is coming back, but Bowman might. Still, there’s a lot to be excited about. A lot of great players are returning (Mitchell, Kraljevic) and the freshman class looks strong. I think there’s a very good chance BC MBB makes it next year. At the very least, the team shouldn’t set their sights lower than that.