Bicycle Race by Sam M. '07

DID YOU KNOW? The song “Holland 1945” by Neutral Milk Hotel is about Anne Frank.

Two quick anecdotes minus three quick answers equals negative fun!

Today in 10.37: Chemical Kinetics and Reactor Design, we had a pop quiz. That’s pretty uncommon for MIT as a whole, but I’ve had a few Course 10 classes with closed-notes pop quizzes that last about 10 minutes. What was really strange, though, about today’s quiz is that Professor Green stopped in the middle of lecture at 11:22 to administer it, and it was about things that he had just talked about in lecture, which he left on the chalkboard as a reference. In his words, the quiz was to “test if you still had a pulse.” I still don’t think anybody got all of the correct answers. That is not uncommon for MIT.

Today in UROP Andy presented to me an article that he found while perusing the most recent issue of The International Journal of Hydrogen Energy. The article described a new gaseous and combustible form of water discovered by some guy at the Institute for Basic Research, which is run out of a PO Box in Florida. The new combustible form of water, which is created by an electrode and is perfectly stable at room temperature, is ten times more efficient than gasoline, and actually better for the environmeny. Why, you ask? Well, you need oxygen to make something combust, right? Well, water already has oxygen in it. So you’re not depleting the worldwide supply of oxygen when you combust water, unlike when you combust fossil fuels. Duh. We finally decided that the article was either a joke, or submitted by a crazy person and given to incompetent peer reviewers.

And that is how science works.

To take a page from the Book of Mollie-valations, here are some answers to some general questions posed recently in the comments.

Mia :) — “Hey Sam…I was reading the Emerson scholarship requirements and I found that vocal scholarship recipients have to participate in “one of the music department groups”, etc. Does MTG count? I don’t think so because when I visited MIT, I went to the Music and something Department looking for MTG info and they said that it wasn’t in their department. Why can’t Musical Theater Guild be a part of these requirements? You did it through high school…we sing too! Personally, I find it necessary for musical-theater students to have vocal lessons given the screamy/belty nature of recent MT music that many people try to emulate. I guess that was more of an opinion question for you.
Here, another one: Say that I did want to take voice lessons while I’m up there and the Emerson scholarship still doesn’t include MTG. Are there any other opportunities for relatively cheap voice lessons?”

MTG is a student-run organization and not part of the Music and Theater Arts department. Why? I’m not too sure really. I get the impression it’s like that at most colleges. However, I do know people who sing more musical-theater oriented music and received the Emerson Scholarship. My friend Kenny ’06 got the scholarship after singing “Razzle Dazzle” from Chicago.

There are a bunch of opportunities for voice lessons, and Dr. Cutter would be happy to enumerate them to you. Relatively cheap? Not so much. I took a few my Freshman year from one of the less notable (but still pretty good) teachers in the area before realizing that $50 an hour just wasn’t worth it anymore. The Emerson Scholarship is definitely the way to go if you want to take voice lessons in Boston, I think.

Kallie — “I have another question about the Emerson Scholars. It says you have to participate in one of the departmental music groups, but under the group listings it lists Vocal Repertoire and Performance. However, that class is already required for vocal scholars. Sooo… does a vocal scholar participate in Chamber Chorus/Chamber Music Society/Concert Choir [where slash = or] and Vocal Repertoire and Performance?”

Yes, as a vocal scholar you have to:
a) take private lessons
b) be in Chamber Chorus, Chamber Music Society, or Concert Choir
c) take the class Vocal Repertoire and Performance, which I believe meets for 2 hours per week only in the spring

Really, it probably adds up to about one extra class worth of time for you, which isn’t too bad considering the opportunities you get in the program. From people I know who have done the Vocal Repertoire and Performance class, it’s a pretty sweet deal. You get to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet and yoga, sing to each other, and get occasional master classes from prominent Boston singers.

Anonymous — “What is the advantage of owning a bicycle at MIT? I was not able to attend CPW so it is like hard to imagine how big is campus and how far are the buildings from the MIT map.”

I have a bike. My senior year of high school, I won a bike on Capital Blue Cross Brain Busters. It was a tightly contested match between my school and Manheim Township, but I ultimately pulled ahead with an answer of “tort,” and then my buzzer malfunctioned for the remaining minute of the match, preventing them from ever buzzing in. That used to be the greatest moment of my short and ignoble life.

But I digress. Okay, so as Ruth said, campus-crossing times depend on dorm and on major. In general, dorms are about a 12 – 15 minute walk from classes. It takes me about two minute and thirty-four seconds to walk down the Infinite Cooridor when I’m doing the “MIT Shuffle,” so I usually try to leave at about 8:50 to get to your average class by 9:05. With my bike, I could If you live in ZBT, which is in, like, Mongolia or something compared to the MIT campus, you’ll be quite a bit of a longer walk from campus. But if you live that far away, anyway, they’re going to be running a shuttle. So, a bike is not essential for getting to class or anything. One thing you shouldn’t worry about, however, is parking, which is usually pretty abundant.

But a bicycle is not just for getting to and from class a little more expeditiously–as the Zoroastrian poet Farrokh Bulsara once said, “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it where I like.” Having a bike makes getting anywhere else in Boston a lot less of a hassle than it would otherwise be. If I need an item from the grocery store and don’t feel like getting gouged by La Verde’s in the student center, it’s not much of a problem to run out to Star Market. The BSO gives out free tickets to concerts as part of , but you have to get there by 4 PM to pick one up. With a bike, this is no problem–just find a half-hour break in classes. If an old friend wants to meet you at Harvard or Fanueil Hall or something, there’s no need to worry about an unsightly subway ride in the middle of the day. Anyway, it would probably take at least five or six hands to count the number of times I’ve said to myself, “Gee, I’m really glad I bought this bike to MIT.” But, like I said, it’s not necessary. Probably 90% of the campus lives a happy, bikeless existence.

Hey man, Jaws was never my scene.