By Ethan Shea

Forget the “The dress” and the controversy over “Laurel” and “Yanny.” The next big internet debate is here!

This time everyone is arguing over whether there are more doors or wheels in the world, and the lighthearted yet passionate banter is certainly welcome.

Those on Team Wheels often cite the immense number of wheeled vehicles in the world. In addition to cars, there are skateboards, scooters, and bicycles. Moreover, you need to replace these wheels more often than you need to replace most doors, so there must be a lot of them!

However, members of Team Doors point to skyscrapers, bathroom stalls, refrigerator doors, and even kitchen cabinets. Regardless of what side of the debate you’re on, both doors and wheels have some tempting points.

One of the most interesting aspects of this debate is the fact that many people are struggling to define what counts as a door and what counts as a wheel. Should cabinets count as doors? What about mini wheels pasta? Is each individual morsel technically a wheel?

NovaRacing Car in Falvey Library

While I have my own opinions on these controversies, the main reason why this debate is so fascinating is because it is surprisingly philosophical. In fact, the struggle to define doors and wheels remind me of Plato’s Theory of Forms.

We all have abstract ideas of what wheels and doors are, and this non-physical concept is the truest, most essential form of them. When we try to translate our general ideas of the forms to specific objects, things can get complicated. If you’d like to read more about this idea and consider how it applies to the great door and wheel debate, Plato discusses it a bit in The Republic, which is available here at Falvey, among several other dialogues.

There are many more reasons why this debate has a home in the Library. First of all, Falvey recently acquired a new set of wheels, as a NovaRacing car was just relocated to outside of the Idea Lab due to the CEER Expansion Project. To learn more about the car and NovaRacing, check out this blog.

Wardrobe door to Narnia

There are also countless famous doors in literature and film. In addition to the image from Monster’s Inc. featured above, a few that come to mind are the Doors of Durin from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the entrance to Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter series, and the wardrobe door to Narnia from The Chronicles of Narnia.

However, we can’t forget famous sets of wheels such as The Magic School Bus, Herbie from The Love Bug, and Lightning McQueen from Cars!

I’m curious where everyone stands on this hot topic, so don’t be afraid to leave a comment taking a side. Are you Team Wheels or Team Doors?

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library

By Ethan Shea

If you have visited the ground floor of Falvey Library lately, you may have noticed some new decor. Located just outside of the Idea Lab, you can find a streamlined racecar that has been temporarily relocated from the College of Engineering due to the CEER Expansion Project.

Photo Courtesy of Villanova Engineering

This car belongs to Villanova’s NovaRacing team, a Formula SAE car racing group. Each year, students who represent NovaRacing must build a car from scratch to compete in a competition that puts several aspects of the car, from its durability to its acceleration, to the test.

When Falvey patrons see such a sleek vehicle, of course the number one question on their minds will be “How fast does it go?” Well, thanks to Will Stoval ’24, a dedicated member of NovaRacing, I have the answer to this question and much more.

To get right to the point, Stoval informed me that the University’s Formula SAE cars go about 82 miles per hour (mph) at top speed. He also mentioned a new feature of the team’s car called the aeropackage. Stoval explained that this addition functions as front and rear wings to the car, and that they are “essentially airplane wings upside down that serve to press the car into the ground so it may corner at higher speeds.”

Despite the informative nature of NovaRacing, the group is much more than a way to teach students engineering. Stoval can attest to this, as he stated: “Some of the most memorable things I have learned from college have come from NovaRacing. Between learning how to weld and work on engines, I’ve learned how important working in a real team is and just how integral leadership and patience are to overcoming obstacles the group may encounter.”

Stoval specifically wanted the car beside Falvey’s Idea Lab because he has “always loved the Idea Lab and how the whole point of the space is to foster creativity and innovation. A racing car built by students perfectly embodies the spirit of the lab.”

Falvey Library is happy to house such a fascinating work of engineering that embodies the hard work and talent of so many Villanova students. In addition to the exciting renovations to the College of Engineering, this car’s temporary presence in Falvey is a welcome effect of the CEER Expansion Project.

Ethan Shea is a first-year English Graduate Student and Graduate Assistant at Falvey Memorial Library.