ESP Biography



NAOMI HINCHEN, MIT junior




Major: 6-3 (Computer Science)

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2011

Picture of Naomi Hinchen

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm 20 years old and a native of Brooklyn, NY. I went to a large, math-and-science-oriented high school and was on the math team for all four years. My hobbies include reading, writing, and wasting time on the Internet.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

X2854: Time Travel for Fun and Profit in Splash! 2009 (Nov. 21 - 22, 2009)
This class aims to explore the role of time travel, parallel universes and alternate worlds in fiction, as well as possibilities for its existence in the real world. Concepts covered will include paradoxes, stable time loops, various hypotheses regarding multiple universe theory, white holes, and the ways in which time may flow. Examples from fiction may include, among others, Doctor Who, Jumper, All The Myriad Ways, Heroes, The Time Traveler's Wife, Stargate SG-1, Harry Potter, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.


H2228: Storybuilding in HSSP Spring 2009 (Mar. 14, 2009)
Interested in writing science fiction, fantasy, alternate history or speculative fiction? This may be the class for you. Students will pick a genre to work in, build a plausible world (including its societies, technology, magic systems if any, ecology, language, geography, aliens and culture), and create characters to suit. Students will spend approximately five weeks on worldbuilding before diving in and writing either a short story or an outline of a longer work such as a novella. This course will be ten weeks long.


X2114: Time Travel for Fun and Profit in Spark! Spring 2009 (Mar. 07, 2009)
This class aims to explore the role of time travel, parallel universes and alternate worlds in fiction, as well as possibilities for its existence in the real world. Concepts covered will include paradoxes, stable time loops, various hypotheses regarding multiple universe theory, white holes, and the ways in which time may flow. Examples from fiction will include Doctor Who, Jumper, All The Myriad Ways, Heroes, and The Time Traveler's Wife.


H1753: Canasta 101 in Splash! 2008 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2008)
Canasta is a card game for four players: simpler than bridge, but still involving a good measure of strategy. You'll learn the rules, then get a chance to practice playing against your classmates.


H1197: Canasta 101 in Spark! Spring 2008 (Mar. 08, 2008)
Canasta is a card game for four people played with two decks of cards. The rules are a little complicated, but don't be intimidated--it's much easier than bridge. Snacks will be provided.


Paradoxes and Unsolvable Problems in SPLASH (2007)
That's right: these problems have no answer. Or more than one answer. Or an answer that contradicts itself. Come bend ...