Category: Random

I’m not sure what the acronym is, but change is inevitable with new experiences, and there’s nothing quite like going abroad to guarantee a new experience. Highly recommended.

Love is so complicated. How can one word mean so many different things? Affection, friendship, familial bond, universal love… if you’re asking whether it’s wrong to fall in love with someone who’s in love with someone else… no. Feelings can’t be said to be wrong. Morality is about actions, not feelings and beliefs. And it’s never wrong to share deep friendships among many people; that’s just called a group of close friends.

Ooh, tricky. Let me make some general suggestions and you can see if they’re the kind of thing you have in mind. PhilPapers is one of our databases that has a convenient organization: you can search for an author whose work you’re interested in, or browse through a list of philosophical topics. That way you can see which titles are interested in which kinds of questions. http://bit.ly/bc-philpapers. Your second option would be the smaller collection of philosophy titles at Browzine, which is set up a little better for giving you the latest issue of a particular title. http://bit.ly/bc-browzine-phil. Both of those are oriented around scholarly titles, so if you’re interested in more popular materials I have one more suggestion. Tell my helper Chris Strauber, who works with philosophy, what kinds of things you’re interested in and he can help you come up with a list that’s more like that. http://bit.ly/bc-browzine-phil

iPhone and Android both have features to help with this, but here are a couple of other things you could try. First, take a careful look at your notifications and think about exactly which apps you need second-by-second updates from. Most of them you probably could turn off, and it’s usually also possible to mute chatty but inessential group chats. Then check in on the stuff you care about when you want to, not when someone else wants you to. Second, take a look at the situations you’re in when you’re using your phone more than you want to. Are you trying to escape from something or avoid dealing with something? Try finding ways to address the underlying thing, because the phone is unlikely to be the only thing going on for you. And also, if you look at photos of people on trains from 50-100 years ago, almost everyone has a newspaper open. Fascination with rectangles that allow you to opt out of social interaction and learn stuff is not new, or necessarily a problem.

Sounds like you need to have two heart-to-hearts: One with yourself (What do I want? If I want only friendship, dates sound… ambiguous. If I want more, have I shared that?) and one with the chemistry person, once you’ve figured out what you want.

There were strongly gendered assumptions about religion in the region where the books that make up the Bible were written down. Many devout Christians likely share those assumptions. However, there have been quite a few books on the subject in the last few decades. There are over 80 in BC Libraries: bit.ly/BC-feminine-god

Humans do like patterns, and tend to attribute their creation to some kind of powerful being. That’s a teleological argument for God, an argument from design or purpose. Humans also have remarkable imaginations, but for the most part what they imagine tends to be amalgams of what they’ve experienced, except for perfection itself, which can only be imagined: that would be an ontological argument for the existence of God: God exists a priori. As your answer is related to both, I recommend looking up both teleological and ontological arguments for the existence of God in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: plato.stanford.edu.

We can always count on Logan Hutsko for some excitement, but it’s worth watching the rookies, too. After the Harvard game, I’m keeping an eye on Alex Newhook. Will they win? I have many answers, but I don’t venture predictions. With their winning record so far, there’s a good chance. Go Eagles!

A 2001 story in the BC Heights found nothing definitive, but there were suspicions about O’Connell House (bit.ly/haunted-oconnell). The thing is, it’s a young campus. Most of the 19th-Century buildings of the old Lawrence farm were torn down, and the first buildings here went up in the 1920’s.

I’ll see if my assistants can dig up this statistic.

The 1963 book Napoleon III, Man of Destiny: Enlightened Statesman or Proto-Fascist?, by Brison Dowling Gooch, might answer your question. The book is offsite; just sign in and click “request book” to order it. bit.ly/BC-napoleon3

I think Goku has won or has been considered stronger whenever they’ve fought each other in canon material, so I’ll say Goku.

A new student center is part of the campus master plan, so the lack of one is not because Fr. Leahy doesn’t want one. There are no dates set for the design and construction, so my guess is the funding has not yet been secured.

It’s not a complete inventory, but this list for baby changing stations (bit.ly/BC-baby), does include some gender neutral (“unisex”) restrooms. Additionally, there are two in O’Neill (1st and 3rd floors), and at least one in Maloney (5th). I will have my assistants contact facilities to see if there is a master list.

Thanks for the additional information!

Do they? I hadn’t noticed. Certainly not the case in old recordings of Cole Porter tunes. Perhaps American pop music has been dominant long enough to establish an “authentic” accent. (For a humorous adaptation of an American accent, look for “Far Away Eyes,” the Rolling Stones’ affectionate satire of country & western from their 1978 album Some Girls.

Maybe. BC’s Consensual Relationships Policy states, “the University prohibits any […] employee from engaging in a romantic or sexual relationship or in any romantic or sexual conduct with any student currently enrolled as an undergraduate at Boston College.” So if the graduate student is employed by the University in any way, the relationship would be forbidden. However, if the graduate student is not employed by the University, then there would be no prohibition on the relationship by the University.

I am flattered that you called me “great.” The Great Wall is one of my heroes. My middle initial is A, but like the friend of one of my assistants, it’s just “A.” (He had an Aunt named Myrtle E. He asked once what the E was for, and she, being from the South, said, “Nothing, sugar, just E.”) I am *always* free, if you don’t mind that I am stationary.

Everyone gets sad now and then. If it doesn’t go away in a few days, try doing something you usually like (food, activity, time with friends, etc.) If that still doesn’t get you out of your funk, you may want to make an appointment with Counseling Services (don’t wait until you’re super-sad before seeing someone).

Well, what would you like to do on a first date? Selecting a restaurant/location/event that interests you would be a great way to see if your date is a good fit. For instance, if they scoff at your suggestion to go to your favorite record store/indie bookstore/quaint cafe, do you really want to date them anyway? If you’re clear out of ideas, the North End is always full of surprises. I recommend getting a sandwich, salad, or pizza to-go at Monica’s, then having a low-key picnic at Long Wharf. If the weather’s bad, there are tons of dine-in restaurants, too! If you run out of conversation, visit I AM Books to talk about your favorite reads or the aquarium to visit some super-cute otters. Everyone’s gotta love sea otters, right?

I’m not sure what “classy” means: everyone deserves some pampering.

La Morra is an excellent idea! The head chef brings experience from cooking and living in Italy for years, as well as from working in a noted Italian eatery before branching out on his own. It might be a little tough to get to from BC without access to a car, however. If you’re thinking that dinner is your first date of choice, I suggest looking at https://boston.eater.com/ where you can search for places to go by neighborhood.