Michael C. '16
May 17 2013
the journey to PLAYsentations
Posted in: Miscellaneous
There's a paragraph in Steve Job's biography where famed Apple industrial designer Jony Ive discusses how his father influenced his early interest in design:
“His Christmas gift to me would be one day of his time in his college workshop, during the Christmas break when no one else was there, helping me make whatever I dreamed up.” The only condition was that Jony had to draw by hand what they planned to make. “I always understood the beauty of things made by hand. I came to realize that what was really important was the care that was put into it. What I really despise is when I sense some carelessness in a product.”
Every Wednesday night for the past few months, from 7 to 10 pm, I've thought about that paragraph. Because every time I step into 35-307, I'm reminded of how lucky I am, to have regular access to a 3D printer and a laser cutter and drill presses and countless other tools that young Jony Ive probably never had in his father's college workshop. To be able to make... read the post »
Apr 27 2013
I GOT TWENTY DOLLARS IN MY POCKET
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Life & Culture
As Matt wrote earlier, today was SpringFest 2013! Or, to put it in technical terms, a really dope* concert with Macklemore and Ra Ra Riot.
*note that the MIT Admissions Office does not endorse the use of dope. Unless we're talking semiconductors.
Ra Ra Riot opened:
they had an awesome violinist (Rebecca Zeller) who had to switch bows after each song:
I very much liked how they integrated string instruments into their sound.
and tambourines, of course.
Next up was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis! The star showing of the night, and the reason why this SpringFest sold more tickets than any in recent memory. And by "recent memory," I mean the memories of the seniors I was talking to. Since I'm a freshman. And don't got no memories.
Funniest moment of the night? When Macklemore borrowed a girl's leopard coat jacket thing.
"This smells like a grandma's house. A grandma who smokes a lotta weed*."
*note that the MIT Admissions Office does not... read the post »
Apr 24 2013
MIT honors Officer Sean Collier (photoblog)
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Life & Culture
Police officers from across the country as well as other mourners turned out by the thousands today for a memorial service to honor fallen MIT officer Sean Collier.
Law enforcement officers paid their respects:
Vice President Joe Biden, MIT President Rafael Reif, and Sean Collier's brothers were among those who spoke at the ceremony:
Security was extraordinarily tight, with countersniper teams dotting the rooftops surrounding Briggs Field:
Helicopter flyby:
Thousands of people packed Briggs Field on a beautiful sunny day:
Students who couldn't make the memorial service found other ways to pay their respects:
Rest in peace, Officer Collier. You'll be missed.
MIT has created a Sean A. Collier Memorial Fund, which will support a Collier Medal to be awarded to people who demonstrate the values and character of Officer Collier. And his family has suggested that memorial gifts be made to the Jimmy Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in... read the post »
Apr 16 2013
Together.
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Life & Culture
This was supposed to be a happy post.
It was supposed to be one of those after-CPW posts, celebrating three straight days of liquid nitrogen ice cream, Tetris hacks, and a campus-wide show of unity to welcome prospective students. It was supposed to be about my first time celebrating Patriots' Day in Boston, about my first time watching that most unifying of sports, the marathon - a sport that doesn't even have a side to cheer for or root against.
And then today's tragic events happened. In a few seconds, a day ripped apart - two explosions, three deaths, and a casualty rate in the triple digits. The wailing of sirens and the steady chop-chop-chop of helicopter blades overhead filled the air.
We were very fortunate to have no immediate members of the MIT community directly injured by the bombs. Yet it was still horrifying beyond words to witness. All thoughts of that happy blog post about MIT went out the window.
But what happened next was inspiring. I've always... read the post »
Apr 7 2013
Freshman FAQs
Posted in: MIT Facts, Academics & Research, Freshman Applicants, Life & Culture, Majors & Minors
Hey there! Haven't seen you in a while. And by "seen" I mean "you haven't seen the pixels on your screen that would indicate that you are reading an MIT Admissions blog post by Michael C. '16."
Anyway.
Around a week ago, one of the admins on the MIT Class of 2017 Facebook page asked me to do a Reddit-style AMA (Ask Me Anything) post. I wasn't able to do one at the time, since I was dangling off a cliff in Utah and had limited Internet access:
(trust me, the lack of reliable wifi was by far the scarier part)
But here I am now, answering some of the questions that I've gotten via email/FB message/owl post in the past few months.
1. "Why did you pick MIT over the bajillion other colleges out there?"
Whenever someone asks me about this I always remember Connie's post from way back when about "fit". Like many MIT people, in high school I was always known as "the smart one" or "the guy who's good at biology" or whatever. And while that's nice for the ego, it's not so... read the post »