CORRECTIONS
A reporter’s notebook last Friday misstated the name of the first place winner of the Elevator Pitch Contest. The contest was won by Andrea B. Colaço, not Andrea Glaco.
Bold solutions vs. petty attacks
“Vote like your ladyparts depend on it.” This is the message that greeted users browsing the Obama campaign website the day before the first presidential debate. The message was clear, and it was petty. If you saw the message and thought “gee, how becoming of the president. How grand a message,” you were one of very few.
MITx and the classroom of tomorrow
In recent weeks, there has been much energy and enthusiasm about both MITx and its multi-institutional counter part edX. Listening to the debate over how MITx can be integrated into the residential experience, I am impressed by how much thought all affected parties have invested. We as a community are at a crossroads. We have been presented with an opportunity to substantially change what it means to receive a college education. This possibility excites me, but for others it may seem slightly frightening. Many people are concerned about what we may lose in the process of integrating online education into our current system. While these concerns are certainly valid, I am still optimistic. Rather than focus on how MITx might harm, I focus on how it can transform. What follows is my vision of how this transformation might play out.
CORRECTIONS
A front page photo of Walter Lewin published last Friday incorrectly said that his lecture took place on Thursday. It took place on Tuesday.
Our civil duty not to vote?
As November 6 approaches, we once again hear the calls of political activists insisting that it is not only our right but our responsibility to vote in the upcoming election. We Americans take this oft-repeated mantra as a given, as a basic necessity of an effective government. But seeing that even informed voters have an amateur understanding of the issues facing the country, are we really in a position to decide which policies should be enacted on a national scale? Does the electorate understand the issues on which it votes?
President Obama and the terrible, no good, very bad debate
Some of the damage done by Obama in the recent presidential debate has likely been mitigated by good numbers for current employment from the Department of Labor, but the polling still tells a dismal verdict for Obama’s performance. A strong debate for a presidential challenger normally turns around polls by about three points; Romney’s win turned around the polls by a whopping 4.6 points, turning a 3.1 deficit versus Obama into a 1.5 point lead in RealClearPolitics’ aggregation of polls. On Intrade, Romney’s odds have climbed 15 points, from 25 percent to 40 percent, while Nate Silver, who runs The New York Times’ prediction model, has Romney improving by 18.2 points, more than doubling to a 32.1 percent chance of victory.
What’s in a debate?
Debates are like a circus. There is promotional advertising, the grand performance, and then afterwards, you exit through the gift shop, designed to give you the impression that what you have just watched was immensely entertaining and gratifying.
CORRECTIONS
An interactive for last Friday's article about MIT's endowment incorrectly showed Stanford's 2012 endowment at $19.7 billion with a 19 percent increase in FY 2012. It is actually $17.0 billion, having increased by 3 percent.
CORRECTIONS
The name of one of the author’s for last Friday’s guest column, “Childcare — a gift for the MIT family,” was misspelled. He is Thomas Crouzier, not Thomas Cruzier.
The Big Mo and the Big Three
There are 25 days left until November 6, 2012. In the week and a half since the first presidential debate, polls have shifted significantly, changing the Electoral College (EC) math. While Governor Romney holds a lead in the national nationwide polling average, the popular vote is not an accurate barometer from which to measure the outcome of the coming election, since it is the Electoral College (the delegates afforded to individual states) that will determine the victor. Therefore, election-watchers (and the candidates) will closely be watching the individual state by state polls as the race comes down to the wire.
Our duty as scientists
Science today has an image problem. Too often it is seen as an esoteric activity of academics, whose results have no influence on the daily lives of the American people. When the news of the neutrinos supposedly going faster of light was reported and the public saw the scientific community scramble to debunk this claim, I cannot help but wonder what an American who does not follow science thought of the coverage.
What does the Electoral College landscape look like?
State Delegates Current Poll Averages (Real Clear Politics aggregate) Shift in October in % Points(by most recent individual polls) Florida 29 Romney +1 Romney +3.5 Pennsylvania 20 Obama +4 Romney +4 Ohio 18 Obama +1 Romney +7 Michigan 16 Obama +6 Romney +9 North Carolina 15 Romney +3 Romney +6 Virginia 13 Tie Romney +5 Missouri 10 Romney +5 No Change Wisconsin 10 Obama +5 Romney +9 Colorado 9 Romney +0.5 Romney +3.5 Iowa 6 Obama +3 Romney +2 Nevada 6 Obama +1 Romney +3 New Hampshire 4 Obama +4.5 Romney +6 TOTAL DELEGATES 156 (270 needed to win) Likely/Lean Obama (all states): 217 (53 to go) Likely/Lean Romney (all states): 181 (89 to go)
EdX needs vision
EdX, MIT’s online learning platform, has a lot of things going for it.
The solution to arrogance: humility
While I agree with the spirit and overall theme of Feras Saad’s article, “The arrogance of freshmen” (i.e. that taking advantage of opportunities at MIT is more important than the fact that you got in here), several sentences had a tone that belied another form of arrogance. The worst was, “ … taking four classes a semester and getting A’s … is not much to brag about, but taking the initiative to research with professors or intern in industry certainly is,” followed closely by, “One can take four classes a semester and cruise through an MIT degree by junior year.”
A new kind of classroom
With the evolution of massive open online course (MOOC) and online learning, in the near future students will no longer need a lecture to learn material. We are already seeing the beginning of this trend; independent learners can teach themselves in an online environment and receive immediate feedback. This represents a major change in model of education. Teachers are no longer the gatekeepers of knowledge and students can take charge of their own educations. The democratizing of knowledge will completely reshape the classroom. When students no longer need to come to lecture to learn the material, what role does the classroom have in education? Where is the added value?
Reagan/Carter debate, 2.0
Chris Matthews looked like he was about to have a meltdown: “What was Romney doing? He was WINNING,” he yelled after what had roundly been viewed as a resounding win for Governor Romney in the first presidential debate on Wednesday evening. Echoing Matthews was a chorus of negative reviews by political pundits on the left:
Childcare — a gift for the MIT family
As students and researchers, we often fall into the trap of disproportionately offering critique over praise and expressing misgivings over thanks. Regardless of whether this is some unavoidable part of human nature or a result of admissions selecting for overly critical creative thinkers, we must all make an improved effort to recognize instances of selfless philanthropy, compassionate leadership, and keen foresight and offer high praise where it is due. It was with great excitement and optimism that we read The Tech’s article breaking news of the new daycare facility at 219 Vassar to open in less than a year’s time. Though David Koch’s and Charles and Jennifer Johnson’s building will never host a cure to cancer or solution to the energy crisis, it will deliver in two equally critical ways which the Institute desperately needs right now:
The arrogance of freshmen
Playing pingpong reveals a lot about the players at the table. I was involved in an intense game with a group of freshmen when we lost track of whose turn it was to serve. After some arithmetic to clear up the confusion, one freshman declared, “I am a math major,” with a haughty smirk sprawled across his face.