By Gary Elbert They are a little bit creased around the frontal dome. Their hair may be flecked with grey wisdom. Their gait and face perhaps hardened by experience. Many opt to sit in the front row of lecture halls like eager but obedient Jack Russells, desperate to absorb every syllable of the lecture while fanatically writing notes with the fervour of a fourth century … [Read more...] about Mature students: A Camus-esque experience
Gary Elbert
We should all dare to dream as 2019 promises to be a thrilling year in sport
By Gary Elbert Looking ahead to Irish sporting events, the Rugby World Cup under the Oriental sun looms large. Arguably the best collection of Irish rugby players since the game’s inception on the island will head to Japan hungry, determined, and targeting outright victory. A tentative hope exists, resting upon a precarious dream of success that is pockmarked by previous … [Read more...] about We should all dare to dream as 2019 promises to be a thrilling year in sport
Opinion: City Brawl
By Gary Elbert I stood outside GMIT umbrella in one hand phone in the other. It was a wet miserable autumn Galway afternoon, the rain attacking from all sides, flanked and buttressed by a cutting Atlantic wind. Suddenly a verbal altercation took place, through the passenger windows of passing cars. One car ‘parked’ in the bus lane metres away from the … [Read more...] about Opinion: City Brawl
Opinion: Marijuana legalisation must be accompanied by education
By Gary Elbert The drugs legalisation process is fraught with problems. In Lisbon, marijuana’s decriminalised status is credited with reducing crime rates and gang related violence, yet on a recent stroll around the city I was pestered by shifty men offering me a laboratory of potent narcotics. They did this openly, with an apparent indifference from law enforcement. The … [Read more...] about Opinion: Marijuana legalisation must be accompanied by education
Futuristic Orwellianism: the time is now
By Gary Elbert The proposal that we are living in a computer simulation has almost scraped the surface of mainstream conceptions in our rapidly expanding technological world. Notable public figures such as Elon Musk have repeatedly articulated the notion, citing it as a realistic possibility. Philosopher Philip Bostrom has explored the argument in detail, grounding it in … [Read more...] about Futuristic Orwellianism: the time is now