The Best Professors Teach Humility
How MIT professor David Autor exemplifies what economics can and should be about
I used to despise economics. ECO101, the introductory economics course I took at the University of Toronto, had convinced me that the field only offered dangerous half-truths. “Minimum wage laws increase unemployment,” I was taught. “Rent control laws are economically harmful; fairness can and should instead be achieved through other means.” I had started the […]
Obituary for Getfit
Saying goodbye to MIT's annual physical activity challenge after 21 years
I remember the first time I walked into the MIT Zesiger Center (Z-center for short) to try to fit a workout in the last hot days of September. I saw varsity athletes and crop tops abound, grunting around weights or running fast speeds on the treadmill. Meanwhile, I had never run a mile in one […]
Greed, Altruism, and Optics
AKA free food and the pizza incident
Part 1: Greed I am easily MIT’s biggest free food fiend. Of course, everyone here loves free food and the Institute always has plenty to give out if you know the right places to look (spoiler alert: usually not the free food mailing lists). While I as a current MIT Technology and Policy Program student […]
Touch grass? More like touch clay.
Practicing failure at MIT Arts Studio's pottery classes
First discovered as an undergraduate student The first time I heard about the MIT Arts Studio was when I was an undergraduate student at MIT and saw an email sent out by a recent alumna to her former dorm Next House (which is right next to Tang): “Hey guys, sign ups for the fall classes […]
A friendly neighborhood elder’s guide to enjoying your program
When you’re insecure about your creaky knees but excited to be here
The second week of classes, I was hanging out with some people in my cohort in the student lounge, when the topic of siblings came up. “Do you have a sibling?” “Yes.” “Are you the oldest?” When I shook my head, their eyes widened in shock. By the way I carried myself and what I […]
