Gauntlet - About: Eric Mathison

Stories

University for the wrong reasons
What is the value of education?
2012-04-12 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Seven years ago, I started an undergraduate degree at Mount Royal College (it was a college then), and in that time I have switched majors, had major switches in my life and I'm still not exactly sure what it is I want to do when I'm finished. Especially over the past semester, I've had a question gnawing at me from time to time: what was I thinking?

This isn't the same thing as saying that I have (too many) regrets about the whole experience, or even that I wouldn't do it exactly the same if given the chance, but I have in mind the more literal sense of the question. When I finished high school to start this adventure I had no idea, of course, that it would be so ambulatory. Nor did I know how different I would become. So the question I've been trying to answer is the one in which I confront what I, my teenage self, thought was so good and worthwhile about university.
More... (1 comment)

No-fault divorce should be standard
2012-03-29 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief

Just as many people decide to get married, many later decide that they made the wrong choice. About 50 per cent of married couples end up getting divorced, and since the Canada Divorce Act, couples haven't required a reason to get a divorce -- they merely need to show that they have been living apart for more than a year.

In England, things aren't so clear. Sir Nicholas Wall, the most senior family law judge in England and Wales, advocated for no-fault divorce in 1996, but Tony Blair's government rejected the amendment, claiming it would make divorce too easy. Wall is once again advocating for no-fault divorces to be the norm.
More...

A different solution to environmental problems
2012-03-15 - Eric Mathison, Editor in Chief

When historians look back on the early years of the 21st century, it's likely that they will conclude that humanity waited too long to address environmental problems. They will also point out, as we are already aware now, the longer the Earth's degradation continues, the more extreme the solution will have to be.

In February, I wrote an article on cognitive enhancement. I argued that compared to drug use in athletics, in academics there is reason to promote the development and use of drugs that make us smarter. My case was romantic and pragmatic: smarter people will not only cure diseases and improve quality of life, they will increase what we learn about our place in space and time, which adds value to life of a different kind.
More...

So it all goes to shit
2012-03-15 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief, or is he?

Well, we're all fucked. Just when you thought it was safe to trust student journalism again, a new round of editors gets elected with the platform of screwing everything up as much as possible.

Erin Shumlich will takeover from Eric Mathison as editor-in-chief at the beginning of May. Shumlich was last year's sports editor, and although she diligently ran her campaign, now that the job is hers she's eager to correct some of the un-truths she mentioned during her campaign.
More...

The future of perfection
Cognitive enhancers have the potential to expand the limits of human achievement.
2012-02-16 - Eric Mathison, Gauntlet Features

Julian sat on the second floor of the Taylor Family Digital Library. He had been there nine hours, was planning to stay until the building closed, go home to study until the early morning, maybe sleep for a couple hours, then return to campus to write his engineering final. Two days before, he had spent over 40 hours in the TFDL without leaving-- the library was open continuously to afford students extra study time during finals.

Julian, which isn't his real name, and I met that day when I asked him if he knew where I could buy Adderall or Ritalin, two drugs commonly used to help people study better. After flashing a look that suggested he was more annoyed with the interruption than that I was asking him to break the law, he pulled out an unmarked bottle and asked how many I wanted. Julian was the second person I had to ask, and it took me just over 10 minutes to find some Ritalin, including the time it took to buy a coffee.
More... (4 comments)

Why are Canadians so bad with money?
2012-01-19 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief

While not as high as before the great recession began in 2008, consumer debt in Canada (the amount of debt individuals have, rather than the amount the government owes) is higher per capita than that of the United Kingdom and America. Household debt hasn't dropped dramatically since the financial crisis, and consumers seem just as likely to buy products on credit as they were in 2007 -- a depressing fact given that the job market is still fragile, and that low interest rates are encouraging people to buy homes.

Financial literacy, which refers to how well people can make informed decisions about their finances, is sorely lacking in Canada. Like an overweight smoker who doesn't change his life until he has a heart attack, Canadians are risking their financial safety by taking on too much debt, not saving enough and being altogether oblivious to the problem.
More... (1 comment)

Farewell, dear Hitchens
2012-01-11 - Eric Mathison, Editor-on-Chief

Of the handful of living people who have significantly shaped my view of the world, Hitchens is the first to die. Like many of my contemporaries, I was swept up in the great wave of de-conversion led by Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett. It's a pity that most people haven't made it past Hitchens's God Is Not Great, which reads more like a collection of debate transcripts thrown together too quickly. (One has to sympathize: after a career of taking on God's servants, he was surely keen to wage direct war on 'the dear leader'.)
More... (1 comment)

Spun: Coldplay
Mylo Xyloto
2011-11-10 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief

Spun - It has now been over a decade since Coldplay released their first album, Parachutes. For their fifth album, the band builds on the Brian Eno-infused sounds of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008).

With Mylo Xyloto, we are treated to the standard Coldplay themes � Chris Martin�s soaring melodies and falsetto, along with optimistic lyrics � but this album jumps around too much to act as a single unit. The songs move from European nightclub hits to soft acoustic ballads. The highs are a bit too high and the lows a bit too low. After listening to the album a number of times, I�m still unconvinced that there was much effort put into the track order � unlike Viva la Vida, it fails to take the listener on a journey.
More...

Ancient wisdom in today's world
2011-09-29 - Eric Mathison, Editor-in-Chief

Why ancient wisdom matters in the modern world was discussed last Friday by National Geographic explorer-in-residence Wade Davis at the University of Calgary. The event was hosted by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation.

Davis's talk focused on the role cultural diversity plays in understanding our place in the world. This diversity is under threat from many directions. "Half of the approximately 7,000 languages being spoken today are not being taught to children," said Davis in an interview before his talk. "Within a generation or two, we're losing half of humanity's linguistic -- but also social, spiritual, ecological and psychological -- knowledge. This doesn't have to happen," he said.
More...

Wade Davis in Calgary
2011-09-22 - Eric Mathison, EIC

This Friday Canadian-born anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis will be speaking at the University of Calgary. The talk is called "Why Ancient Wisdoms Matter in the Modern World."

The goal of the talk is "to encourage people to think about a central revelation of anthropology, and that's the idea that other peoples of the world aren't failed attempts at being you. They are unique answers to a fundamental question: what does it mean to be human and alive," he said.
More...

[Next Page]

More stories by Eric Mathison: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9