Critical Thinking

When Kids Learn the Truth About Santa, Anything Can Happen

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“My moma [sic] said the chimney was blocked.” Thus reads the letter from a 10-year-old girl in Wisconsin who was told by her mother that Santa Claus would not be dropping off gifts that year. The real reason? The Great Depression, a decade-long economic downturn that followed the 1929 Wall Street crash.

Nutritional Studies Can Drive One Batty

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 18:21:57 +0000

Just about every day we are confronted with some report about some food that is going to extend our life or accelerate our demise. Sometimes it’s even the same food! One day we are urged to use vegetable oils instead of animal fats, and the next day may bring a study informing us that soybean oil is linked with obesity. Coffee is a villain one day, a hero the next. Ditto for eggs, red wine or dairy Worried about depression? A study tells us that individuals with the highest consumption of ultra processed foods have a significantly higher risk of depression.

Searching for the Elusive Fountain of Youth

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 22:46:23 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Are Levitating Trains a Health Hazard?

Haleh Cohn BSc — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

For anyone who flies into Shanghai Pudong International Airport, it’s a rite-of-passage to take the Maglev -- short for magnetic levitation -- train into the city. The railway is as much a tourist attraction as it is a transportation system.

I was on board the train this summer, gleefully watching the speed climb to over 300 km/hour, when I overheard the woman beside me ask if the magnetic field emissions posed a health risk.

Antsy About Getting Old? How about Some Ant-Yogurt?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:58:26 +0000

I do get some interesting questions. How about this one? “Why in Central Europe did we as kids put a straw on an anthill, wait for the ants to crawl over it and then suck it for its sour taste? My mother did it and lived to 93!”

Traffic Has Increased at My Office. It's Because of the Ducks

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:15:56 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Does Creationism Have a Place in Classrooms?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000

A new

The 'Nappuccino': Myth or Midday Miracle?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I never quite outgrew the afternoon nap phase we all went through as kids. Among my friends, napping was (and still is) considered to be my “thing." From my friends creating a photo album of me dozing in the library to getting me a pajama set for my birthday, it’s been a hard reputation to shake. As someone who consistently gets slammed with the strong yearn to catch some post-lunch Zzz’s, the caffeine nap strategy is one I find fascinating.

Hydrogen-Rich Gary Brecka Is Floating on Air

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 16:22:16 +0000

The penthouse at the top of the glass tower is vast, airy, and very angular.

From ELIZA to ChatGPT, Chatbots Aren’t Know-it-Alls

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 21:32:29 +0000

It all started with Eliza Doolittle. I’m not speaking about my fondness for musicals, I’m referring to the birth of “chatbots.”

ELIZA was the name of a program considered to be the world’s first chatbot, created in the 1960s by MIT Professor Joseph Weizenbaum. Weizenbaum named it after Eliza Doolittle, the poor flower-seller with a strong Cockney accent whom Professor Henry Higgins teaches to speak like an upper-class lady in the musical My Fair Lady.

No, Drinking Milk Will Not Increase Your Chances of Winning a Nobel Prize

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“The countries that drink MILK WIN more NOBEL PRIZES.”

Imagine my surprise when I opened the fridge for some milk to add to my coffee and was greeted by this statement. Puzzled, I couldn’t help but scoff as I poured the milk into my cup. Before returning it to the fridge, I of course snapped a picture to send to my friends.

Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

“I know where you live. I know your address. I know who you are. Trust me, they won’t even find your dead body.”

Artificial Intelligence Sneaks Into Scientific Publications

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:43:15 +0000

Roughly three and a half million scientific papers are published globally every year in an estimated 47,000 academic journals. That’s an astonishing six papers every minute! Some are very good, some very bad, most are mediocre. The vast majority of science and medical journals are peer-reviewed, but peer-review is not a guarantee that the results reported and conclusions arrived at are reliable. Studies have shown that the same paper sent to different reviewers may be highly praised or rejected, depending on the reviewer’s expertise or bias.

Faster, Higher, Stronger… Enhanced?

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

For most people, track and field exists as a fleeting summer spectacle: ten days every four years when the fastest, strongest, and most gravity-defying humans wage war on a 400-metre oval. For me, this sport is much more. During my time as a varsity athlete, I was consumed by the oval: on it, I trained and competed; beyond it, I devoured every development in the professional track world.

Claims About Blue Spirulina Raise a Red Flag

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Thu, 16 Oct 2025 16:24:31 +0000

In the science communication business, we call them “weasel words.” Why? Because weasels have a reputation for being sneaky and tricky. We are talking about words like “may,” “suggest,” “possible” and “potential” that can trick the reader into forming a positive impression without making a specific commitment. What prompts this discussion about dodgy words? I just finished reading a short article, 850 or so words, about the health benefits of “blue spirulina” on “Healthline,” a reasonably reputable newsletter. I counted the number of times the word “may” appears. An astounding 21 times!