In the 1960s, Noam Chomsky, a linguist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, observed that different languages across the world have common patterns. Chomsky postulated the Theory of Universal Grammar (UG), which suggests that humans have created languages and grammar rules that conveniently fit with how our brain is organized.[Read More…]
Latest News
“Art a la Mode” bridges the gap to the future of art
A street artist, a professor, a tattoo artist, a videogame designer, and a curator all walk into a bar—or rather, a McGill University auditorium. On Nov. 30, the McGill Students’ Visual Arts Society (MSVAS) presented “Art à la Mode: Keeping Art Current,” a Q&A discussion panel questioning visual art’s position[Read More…]
ESports enter the McGill arena
On Dec. 3, eight teams of students from universities across North America battled in the Tespa Collegiate Series: Overwatch quarterfinals. Tespa—”a network of college clubs founded to promote gaming culture and host the best college eSports events and competitions”—is one of many organizations dedicated to collegiate eSports, or competitive video-gaming.[Read More…]
Pulling back the curtain: Access to sports superstars through social media
“I Dont wanna be here,” tweeted then-Phoenix Suns point guard Eric Bledsoe on Oct. 22. When he pressed send, Bledsoe had used a little over seven per cent of Twitter’s now 280-character limit to captivate the entire basketball world. Within a few hours, sports news sites picked up the tweet[Read More…]
Short guides to active viewership and listening
Active Viewership Throw your cellphone, food, and “friend” out the window Rather than splitting your time between different distractions, do one thing at a time! Ask “Why?” Take for granted that filmmakers know what they are doing, and that all things happen for a reason. Questioning every artistic decision will[Read More…]
Swipe right—for the right reasons
I recently re-downloaded the dating app Tinder. I was working on a difficult essay and, frustrated by my lack of success, found myself reactivating an old profile and swiping furiously. This was not the first time this had happened. When school becomes stressful and the pressures of McGill begin to[Read More…]
Make new friends and keep the old: How students stay in touch despite distance
University is an opportune time to make new friends—but sometimes, this comes at the expense of staying in touch with the old. Friendships naturally change over time, as distance and extracurriculars lead to new, and sometimes divergent, paths. It is already challenging for students to find time to catch up[Read More…]
Campus conversation: Increasing representation among McGill faculty
The McGill Tribune Opinion section asked staff and student members of the McGill community to answer the question, “Where is McGill heading when it comes to faculty diversity and representation, and where should it be heading?” Read on for their responses. Tynan Jarrett | Isabelle Oke | Susan Gaskin[Read More…]
Distinguishing science from sci-fi in the search for extraterrestrials
Astrobiology, the scientific study of life beyond Earth, was born in 1959 and pioneered by NASA’s Ames Research Center. Along with scientific research, public imagination of extraterrestrial life was broadening. In 1969, when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins successfully landed on the moon, it reached new heights. Since[Read More…]
A year after Hillary Clinton’s defeat: Becoming ‘that’ woman
The result of the 2016 American presidential election was, and still is, personal. Hillary Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump shook me to my core. Even now, over a year later, time has failed to heal the wound. Americans were given the chance to prove that sexism warranted no place in[Read More…]
