Friday, August 14, 2020
what am i doing
what am i doing I thought, since my last post was actually quite uninformative re:MIT facts and information, and instead I just blogged my feelings (which isnât all bad, I suppose) today I could actually tell you what Iâm doing this semester. 6.832 class. I had the most information about this in my last post actually, but to recap: Professor Russ Tedrakeâs goal is to construct a paper airplane that he can throw from MIT and have it land accurately in Harvard Square. His lab has already made a paper airplane that can repeatedly land on a perch, the way birds do, and he is fascinated by the way passive mechanisms allow us to move about. For example, this robot falls down a ramp in a walking motion (no power, no motors, no electricity!) showing how purely mechanical designs can be efficient and effective. So, we should really be taking more advantage of that in roboticsa principle he impresses on students every Tuesday and Thursday in 6.832: Underactuated Robotics. Help Iâm surrounded by grad students :O one of them actually works in the lab where Iâm doing my thesisweâll get to that later! 21W.755 This past weekend, my homework assignment was to eavesdrop (or âcarefully overhearâ) some strangersâ conversation. On getting into an uber, I took detailed notes on a completely random personâs dramatic conversation about when she would turn 21 and be able to purchase alcohol, whilst complaining about a group of people that ruined the party they were coming from. I hoped they couldnât see me typing all this into my phone. 21W.755: Reading and Writing Short Stories is an incredibly difficult class to get into. I almost didnât, actually, but I suppose crossing my fingers and praying that seniority would work in my advantage helped. I also desperately needed to fulfill my HASS-Arts requirement (weâre required to take at least one each of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities designated courses) and so Iâm glad that Iâm in this class, both because I really wanted to take it and also because I need to graduate.^^; So why was I told to listen to a strangerâs conversation? Our professor, Shariann Lewitt, tells us to pay more attention to the world around us. Each class itâs something differenta smell, a sound, a texture or tactile feeling. This reminds me of something David Foster Wallace wrote, which I canât for the life of me remember the title of the book or text, but he says essentially that writers are just incredibly thirsty observers (I believe his word was ânosyâ), living for witnessing othersâ moments. I hope I will become a better writer, and a better observer. I have quickly learned why the class was so full the first dayIâve learned so much already. 21G.038 21G.038: China in the News: The Untold Stories was also slightly oversubscribed the first day, but I luckily got to whip out my Chinese minor privileges to stay in the course. I actually wasnât sure what to expect for this class until the first day, but as it turns out, the course focuses on the politics of framing. This means, the politics of how the frame of some image (or writing, or film, etc.) is chosen. A frame is a âsingle storyâ, a single perspective on an issue. For China, the frame is often about communism and censorship and a generally negative filter, so it makes for a particularly good case study. We also discuss China-U.S. relations, and Chinaâs own internal dialogues on various issues. Iâm quite glad I chose to take this course, and Iâm excited to learn more about the very modern Chinamy mother, having left in the â80s, is a bit more removed from the most recent developments. 2.THU This is the first year Iâm taking only one technical course and two humanities courses. Thatâs because 2.THU is not really a classitâs my thesis!!!!!!!!! This means I donât have classes or anything usual for this âcourseâ. Instead, Iâm continuing my research in Professor Alberto Rodriguezâs lab this semester, the Manipulation and Mechanisms Laboratory at MIT, fondly nicknamed the MCube lab. I love working here, and Iâve been surprised how much my past experience as a UROP on the DCP team at the Media Lab has really helped (those two years paid off!!) Now that Iâm a senior and a lot more experienced, Iâve been able to really be a part of the lab. I attend meetings and reading group (where we read journal papers covering related research) and Iâm around enough that I can actually get to know everyone, which Iâve really enjoyed. I was even convinced to take 6.832 by another person in my lab, and weâre now in a study group together. I feel like Iâve been able to get a good taste of graduate school this way, which was my whole intent behind thesis-ing (as a 2A major, Iâm not actually required to do one). ??????? So Iâve mostly been asked the question what are you doing in a different context lately: âwhat are you doing after graduation?â Letâs list the stressful questions college students face from beginning to end, why donât we: Have you thought about where youâll apply this year? So, where are you going to college? What are you going to major in? What are you doing this summer? What are you doing after graduation? I wasnât stressed out about the first two, because my eyes were always set on MIT and I was fortunate enough to apply and get in early action. I was also pretty certain about my major when I enteredI was deciding between Course 6 and Course 2, mainly trying to decide which one was best for robotics, and then I picked 2A-Robotics (lol). Sophomore year I was a lil stressed about #4 because I thought I needed an internship, but Iâm really glad, actually, that I didnât get an internship that year. Instead, I traveled between 3 continents and 6 citiesa summer program in China in June, UROPing in Boston with a surprise stint at some Google warehouses for two weeks (wherein I drove a Toyota Forerunner in San Francisco and it was awful), and finishing up the Muti Water Project in Ethiopia in August. But #5 has been giving me nightmaresor it would, if I could manage to sleep at night. To clarify, I have some options now so I feel a lot better, but at least initially, it was really scary to hit senior spring and think about not having a job after graduation. I really should have been less freaked out, because I am fortunate in that after graduation I could always go home, spend time with the fam, and keep searching, or even do something random and apply to graduate school next fall if it came to that. But since I did not apply to grad school this fall (I want to work first) I was left with a feeling of real panic and (somewhat irrationally) fearing that I would be starving in June. The answer to that question is still basically: I donât know yet, ask me in a few months. Infinite Jest Chris and I and a few other students have been doing âInfinite Springâ, where we schedule reading sections of David Foster Wallaceâs Infinite Jest with the goal of simply reading and finishing it. We also hold book-club-type meetings every Tuesday where people can get together and discuss if they want. This type of schedule is nice because for most people, including me, the deterrent to reading and especially finishing Infinite Jest is in large part because it is simply enormous (itâs 1000+ pages). Iâve enjoyed it so far, though I should say it is very strange and confusing in many places, and slightly surreal. But I enjoy having something to read after a long day (well I didnât in like the first 60 pages, but it got more coherent and I do now!) I especially like how the book reflects some of my own feelings back to meas all books do, ultimately, but this one, partly about a high-pressure school, seems particularly apt. Its pictured next to another thing that I enjoyI got this leather travelers notebook with my initials stamped on it from Etsy :3 Running around campus/Boston Here are some pictures, just because: did u kno they have korean skincare products at some CVSs now :O (blogging about how Iâve gotten into skin care is on my to do list lol) In building 14N, thereâs a bunch of posters everywhere, lining the stairwells, the elevator, some parts of hallways. They are particularly aesthetically pleasing and/or funny here, as 14N houses the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Did you know that in Walker Memorial (a building where we all take our exams) there is a bar? It is called the Muddy Charles Pub, and I had to look that up because everyone calls it just âthe Muddyâ and I actually forgot the real name lol. Anyway, instead of a normal wedge door stop, they prop their door open with a really old laptop and I think thatâs hilarious. Also, as its open to the whole (of age) MIT community, this is not a good place to complain about professors or TAs, as my friend helpfully pointed out. My significant other and I went to see the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the MFA one of the Sundays of IAP. I enjoyed these colorful flowers~ Post Tagged #6.832 #photography
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