Originally Posted by Mowicz

why do we call it "Mac" anyway? Isn't it MCMaster? That's another one of those things I acquired from people around campus.

I always wondered that too lol. I have a friend (who doesnt go to mac) and she pointed it out to me that it doesnt make sense, so she calls it "McMac" which I think is hilarious.

Yeah, my mother calls it MacMaster, and I'm like Moooom it's not like that! Then she'll say, "Why is it called Mac then?" and I've got no answer.

Originally Posted by Goce

All those things you listed are acronym's, not abbreviations.

What a productive and insightful post. :p

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Definitions of abbreviation on the Web:

• a shortened form of a word or phrase

Hence, an acronym is also an abbreviation. The set of acronyms is a subset of the set of abbreviations.

The converse doesn't hold of course, because "Kin" isn't an acronym for Kinesiology. So some things are abbreviations, but not acronyms. And of course, some club names (Such as MACSA) are only 'partial' acronyms, or not acronyms at all, like the MacEng Society.


So the tl;dr: Though you are correct, and the ones I listed are infact acronyms, I am also correct in calling them abbreviations. Furthermore, if refering to all societies/clubs, it is incorrect to call them all acronyms.

Originally Posted by katie_batt

I always wondered that too lol. I have a friend (who doesnt go to mac) and she pointed it out to me that it doesnt make sense, so she calls it "McMac" which I think is hilarious.

I call it that too, and always wanted to make a shirt that says "McMac"

Mac doesn't make sense to me. D:

Things I hear here a lot more than I used to everywhere else are:

Legit - Basically whether or not something is good and/or sketchy (i.e. Ginos' Pizza is not a legit food establishment, but their prices and hours are!).

Solid - Whether or not something is substantial (i.e. Someone will say "Hey I got an 80% on the quiz!" and someone else will say "Solid mark...").

Buttrape - What any hard course/assignment does to you or your mark.

lol "Watch out for 2nd year (course title here)! It's Buttrape!" they'll all say.

Originally Posted by Mowicz

Not to mention...why do we call it "Mac" anyway? Isn't it MCMaster? That's another one of those things I acquired from people around campus.

This drives me INSAAAAAAAAAANE. I will never refer to McMaster as "Mac". According to the "Brand Manual" (the manual that staff on campus have to follow if they release anything like posters or pamphlets from McMaster), you're not alloed to call it "Mac".

I don't really get this... so they can't call the school Mac in posters or anything but a large amount of the school clothing being sold at Titles say MAC in huge letters across them.

Originally Posted by ingénieur.xo

I don't really get this... so they can't call the school Mac in posters or anything but a large amount of the school clothing being sold at Titles say MAC in huge letters across them.

I hate those clothings. >_< Unless you go here or actually know anything about universities, no one will know what it is. >_<

Ok, so you can all stop making a big deal of this...

"Mac" and "Mc" mean the same thing and are directly related to each other. They both mean "son of" in Gaelic. Essentially, names like McMaster or (for example) MacMaster are exactly the same and calling McMaster "Mac" is like shortening the name to "Mc" (spoken "Mick").

Technically either one is appropriate, and this is the reason why it's used interchangeably (Mac for McMaster, Big Mac at McDonald's, etc).

So there's your answer... when people tell you "why do you call it Mac, it doesn't make sense?" you can tell them "well, it actually does make sense..."

PS: I will always affectionately call my school Mac...

Originally Posted by lawleypop

I hate those clothings. >_< Unless you go here or actually know anything about universities, no one will know what it is. >_<

All my teachers in high school and lots of people I've spoken to from other places all know that Mac means McMaster... it's not that big of a secret.

Originally Posted by Taunton

All my teachers in high school and lots of people I've spoken to from other places all know that Mac means McMaster... it's not that big of a secret.

I've actually had someone say to me, "What's McMaster?"

And obviously more people when I use the term Mac. I think probably 5-10 people so far. >_< (like just randoms on a bus or whatever)

Originally Posted by britb

People in high school (admittedly, they were a little infactuated with the idea of being in IB) used to say "that's so IB" or something like that instead, since we were in the program. Now when I say people either no idea what the heck IB is or they just kinda glare. I can't blame the ones for glaring, I know a quite few people from the progam who are arrogant pricks. On a side note, I wonder how many people from IB are at Mac, it would be a neat figure to see. I actually think being in IB hurts your chances, but that's a rant for another time.

haha OMG I totally remember saying "that's so IB" when I was in highschool. Most people at Mac have no idea what "that's so IB" means, so now I only say it when I am with my "IB friends". But no one has ever glared at me when I've told them that I was in IB...most people dont know what IB is and they are genuinely interested in finding out more about the program. I think it depends on how you tell people...if you are cocky about it, you will probably get a lot of glares.

Yeah, that's why I don't mention it unless it comes up on its own - I've heard stories of idiot IB kids.

Me and my IB friends kinda avoid talking about it too - bad memories, mostly. It's a long story, but let's say my IB class got screwed.

On a side note, I don't know very many IB kids from outside my school - none, actually. So, since i've already asked all the people I know;

Was it worth it, rrtt?

I would do it again, but more because I could not stand to be in academic knowing there were kids in a level above me - I guess its a mix of pride and competitiveness more than anything, though I did want to learn more. I could have had a waaaaay nicer entrance if I didn't go through with it, but I think I'm better off in terms of writing and thinking critically, esspecially in history.

Originally Posted by britb

Yeah, that's why I don't mention it unless it comes up on its own - I've heard stories of idiot IB kids.

Me and my IB friends kinda avoid talking about it too - bad memories, mostly. It's a long story, but let's say my IB class got screwed.

On a side note, I don't know very many IB kids from outside my school - none, actually. So, since i've already asked all the people I know;

Was it worth it, rrtt?

I would do it again, but more because I could not stand to be in academic knowing there were kids in a level above me - I guess its a mix of pride and competitiveness more than anything, though I did want to learn more. I could have had a waaaaay nicer entrance if I didn't go through with it, but I think I'm better off in terms of writing and thinking critically, esspecially in history.

I absolutely loved IB. At the end of the day, I genuinely think that IB made me a better person (I know that is really an IB thing to say but its true: P). Although I complained about it at the time, I actually enjoyed the 250 hours of community service and the TOK classes. Nonetheless, for $2400, I do not think IB was worth it. Personally, IB did not make that much of a difference when applying to university and applying for scholarships. I was probably better prepared for the workload at university because of IB, but I think I would have gotten use to all the work anyways. I loved the program itself, I just wish there were more benefits.