Category: appreciation

Splash! 2012 Classes—MIT Gangnam Style Strikes Again!

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The magic of Splash! 2012 has come and gone with a little lingering on. The two classes I taught this year, An Introduction to Conceptual Metaphor Theory and An Introduction to Very Short Fiction, went well. The students were of high caliber: very engaged, astute, curious and respectful—impressive! Here’s a couple pieces I wrote during the writing exercises in  An Introduction to Very Short Fiction (btw, here are slides for that class):

  1. In between us there are mellifluous lies, bringing us together and pushing us apart, unsteadily surprising us as some explode in our faces when fragments of truth come along. You in your ruinous foggy sweater this wintry morning would have it no other way, for the bonds of fiction and fallacy offer so much possibility when it’s cold.
  2. He wallowed in Trisha’s couch, resolutely. Until she got home. Then they played chess for hours, to prepare for tomorrow.

Can’t wait until Spark! 2013.

Oh yes—I sat in on the Splash! Cognitive Neuroscience class, which opened with MIT Gangnam Style!

Currently Reading: Sorry Please Thanks You

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When I read How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (HTLSiaSFU) about two years ago, after finding a proof for sale at Portland, OR’s Powell’s City of Books, I was utterly stunned. The unlikely amalgamation of pseudo-scientific and magical realism ideas Charles Yu explored in that multi-layered novel were intoxicating to my cognitive-science-and-linguistics-obsessed mind, musings on the nature of fiction deftly worked together in a loftily intelligent literary achievement.

While you can tell when reading Sorry Please Thanks You that its stories come from the same uniquely nerdy and heartrending approach to literature, especially in “Standard Loneliness Package” and “Open”, overall this collection doesn’t pack the kind of intellectual and emotional punches HTLSiaSFU did. Charles Yu again explores compelling, nerdy ideas in fresh ways, and while the worlds of these stories are unlike most you’ll find in today’s fiction, they often didn’t resonate with me as cerebrally as I hoped they would.

At Splash! 2012

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I’m back at MIT to teach Splash! classes for the Educational Studies Program (ESP) this wondrous weekend when middle and high school students converge on the MIT campus to take classes from volunteer teachers on topics that interest them, ranging from origami to black holes to parasitic wasps to the science of cooking. The atmosphere in the student-and-parent-packed hallways of the Infinite Corridor is charged with enthusiasm, while the Splash HQ (where I just checked in) is partly frenetic and casually jovial with lots of underlying camaraderie.

I’ve been volunteer teaching for Splash! and ESP on and off for over ten years now, and I keep coming back to do more. I’ve never seen or heard about anything like what ESP does, and it still amazes me that every year, the students who comprise ESP successfully organize this weekend-long celebration of sharing knowledge, passion and energy.

ESP officers, staff, etc. past and present, I love your dedication to connecting those who want to teach with those who want to learn. Thank you for making learning fun and accessible to so many!

Perhaps I’ll post thoughts on my classes here later.

Still love you, Tech: MIT Gangnam Style!

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Wow, I am yet again so impressed by the fine folks at my alma mater, always pushing the envelope! So much energy, creative enthusiasm and sheer zaniness on that campus, spilling out into other parts of Cambridge and more broadly the world. Although practically everyone has seen this k-pop parody, just wanted to add it into the collection of things that have enthralled me recently. Compels me to wear my brass rat more often, among other things…


Absolutely delighted to see Eric Lander and Noam Chomsky appear in this video!

Revitalized by the Great Meadows, or I love MassDEP

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This past weekend, I bicycled out to the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge for some ecosystem immersement. The experience did not disappointed in the slightest—once the din of small planes overhead subsided and if I disregard how sore my butt got after riding for a while down invigoratingly wooded trails. Refreshed by beautiful birds and vegetation all around, the craziness of my past week (packed with meetings galore and email frenzies) melted away, leaving only the wonder of nature.

At the trailhead leading into the wetlands, I noticed a MassDEP sign (shown above) and wondered what they were up to here. I wasn’t able to find any additional information, but I’m delighted and comforted to know that MassDEP is doing some work at the Great Meadows. Now that I at last know the incredible value of ecosystems services and concerning/pressing/devastating extent of water issues, I am so glad that there are agencies like MassDEP that monitor and protect resources like this which are so vital for the ecology of Massachusetts and the health of its residents.