I met Pierre Juneau -- the prominent Canadian civil servant who died this week -- only once or twice, but was struck on those occasions by the grace and generosity he showed towards researchers and students interested in his legacy. Juneau is best known, of course, for having...

I don't usually buy the Journal de Montréal newspaper, for a wide variety of reasons, but gave in when faced with a blaring headline: "Let's Party... (en anglais seulement)." Inside, the paper reported on a dozen or so downtown Montreal nightclubs advertising their New Year's Eve festivities in English only....

Over the last few years I've been struck, looking out at my undergraduate classes, by the sight of 80 or more Apple logos staring back at me from the backs of students' notebook computers. Those reflecting on the legacy of Steve Jobs have emphasized the ubiquity of the iPhone and...