Fave Movie? Best Party? The Tech Asks…
<i>Tech</i> staff Andrea Robles ’10 and Monica Kahn ’10 went around the Institute last week asking people for their thoughts about 2007. Here are some of the answers.
It’s a Big, Big World
In the Buenos Aires financial district, rusting metal riot blockades remain on the sidewalks near the banks, which are modern-day fortresses, outfitted in concrete and secured by guards. In public plazas, black gates surround statues of political figures to protect them from vandalism. Politically charged graffiti is littered throughout Avenida de Mayo, the street that connects Congress to Plaza de Mayo – Buenos Aires’ historical location of political protest. At dusk, <i>cartoneros –</i> who would otherwise be unemployed – pick through city trash bins in search of cardboard scraps to sell. At night, homeless individuals sleep in doorways of closed shops in the upper class Recoleta neighborhood.
Brouhaha Rhythm
I feel sort of weird wearing a Hawaiian shirt in the middle of a raging snowstorm, but college has an interesting way of economizing one’s wardrobe, or at least my wardrobe. I can only store so many clothes in my dresser (meaning, on my floor), I can only afford to do so many loads of laundry, and I can only hang so many clothes in my cubicle — I mean, my dorm room. Yes, I hang dry my clothes, and unless you have frequent company that might be put off by damp unmentionables dangling from the ceiling, I will gladly explain the merits of hang drying if you ask me. Go ahead, ask.
Squid vs. Whale
So it turns out MIT gives you four weeks in January to “improve yourself.” Well, ain’t that nice. This year, I wanted to do something really special with my Independent Activities Period (other than go skiing). I wasn’t about to learn Java or take a house course; instead, I wanted to do something really memorable. I wanted to tackle my fears head on and put myself out on a limb. Mainly, I wanted to do something outrageous enough that I’d never get taken seriously again in my life. At first I was thinking ice SCUBA diving.
It’s a Big, Big World
On Commercial Street, one of Bangalore’s shopping meccas, our group was on assignment to bargain for and purchase various items. While buying a pair of turquoise earrings, I felt a slight graze on my upper arm. I turned and faced a middle-aged Indian woman with a baby. She brought together the fingers of her free hand and raised them to her mouth, motioning an eating action. Then she cupped that hand, presented it to us palm side up, and looked at us pleadingly.
Brouhaha Rhythm
People often assume that we have relatively poor English skills just because we go to a school that’s predominantly scientific and engineering-ic. That, of course, is simply not true. Well, not necessarily, anyway.
Brouhaha Rhythm
Ah, it’s good to be home. My sibling is toiling away at high school and my classmates are trudging 15 miles uphill both ways through the less-than-tropical climate of winter in Cambridge. Meanwhile, I’m warming my toes in luxurious Virginia. Sure, it’s not sunny California or Hawaii, but it’s where the heart is, no doubt about it.
Ask SIPB
This week, we will explore several ways in which to access MIT e-mail accounts and the advantages that various e-mail clients offer when compared to Webmail.
Through My Eyes
If you died tomorrow, would you have regrets? Would you be satisfied with your life? Would you be more than content?
Brouhaha Rhythm
Boy, when people sing about a winter wonderland around here, they ain’t kidding. I’d wager that with the first major snowfall of the year comes an increasingly enthusiastic populace with ideas aplenty as to what to do with it. The fact that many here are from toastier climes and may be unfamiliar with some key properties of snow (such as its effectiveness in projectiles) only adds to the potential for hijinks.
Practicing Poverty
I’ve always been interested in international development. Traveling to exotic places while saving millions of lives — what a double whammy! I call that the perfect job. My friend calls that a hero complex. Nonetheless, I signed up to take the D-Lab: Introduction to Development course (11.025J / SP.723) because it offered a once-in-a-life time opportunity to travel and make a difference. Little did I know that a small assignment called “Practicing Poverty” would change my perspective on international development.
How to Pick Up … at MIT
Everyone has, had, or will have this problem. Some have solved it. Others have given up. Colloquially, we refer to the problem as “picking up.” Here, one can’t help but draw a natural comparison to “picking up” hardware at a computer store. If only things were as simple as ordering to specification or as exciting as a buy-one-get-one-free sale. But perhaps the real dilemma lies in the vagueness of our colloquial talk. In light of the fact that MIT students are such unbelievable pset solvers, we might as well reformulate our problem in a more familiar language:
Cipher in My Cereal
<i>Solution to Dec. 4 Cipher: </i><i><Zoroaster, Zarathustra, Zartosht> </i>→<i> take out all repeating instances of letters </i>→<i> <Zartosheu> </i>→<i> anagrams to </i>→<i> <azure shot> </i>→<i> <the second word, shot> </i>→<i> <SHOT = Society for the History of Technology> </i>→<i> <they award the Dexter Prize> </i>→<i> <Dexter’s Laboratory> </i>→<i> <Cartoon Network></i>
Through My Eyes
Known as “Asians,” Indians make up a significant part of the East African population. Though the minority, their culture has been strongly integrated into the East African culture. Considering themselves Asian-Africans, the Indian community in Kenya are well-respected and mostly in the higher economic class. Though I did not interact with any Asian-Africans in Kenya, the integration of the two cultures was obvious. However, I should say, the differences were pronounced and some environmental factors were almost the opposite of what they were in India.
Cipher in My Cereal
<i>Solution to Nov. 27 Cipher: William Barton Rogers, founder of MIT; BEAVER PRIDE</i>
Brouhaha Rhythm
Many people at MIT are nerdier than most, and some have and continue to spend hours at a time playing video games instead of talking to anything with a pulse. So, it’s self-explanatory that social skills, at least among us freshmen, may be a smidgen underdeveloped. As impressive as our LANs are, we are not, by and large, a party school. By that, I mean that when people hear “MIT,” they generally don’t think of us as the “Planet of the Witty, Friendly, and Appropriately Hygienic Students” so much as they do the “Planet of the Slide-Ruling Apes.” Tragic, no?