Splash 2017
Course Catalog


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Visual and Performing Arts Languages and Literatures
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Visual and Performing Arts

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A11853: Yoga Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jennifer Wang

Feeling kind of stiff? Come stretch out your limbs and find some inner peace while you're at it!

A11615: How to Read Sheet Music
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Victoria Provost

We will go through the basics of music theory, such as notes on a staff, dynamic markings, rhythms, and chord progressions. Absolutely no experience necessary!

A11564: Lighting Design Workshop - Beginner
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jakob Weisblat

Come learn a little bit about lighting design for the theater. We'll hang a few lighting instruments from the ceiling, play with controlling them a bit, and design lights for a short play.


Prerequisites
This class is not intended for someone with any lighting experience; general theater or theater tech experience is welcome.

A11852: The Life of Lines Full!
Difficulty: **

How do you tell a story with lines? Would you use a single or a thousand? In this class, we will think about how to draw with lines and how we can use them to convey stories.

A11725: Digital Things
Difficulty: **

Ever wondered how to make things using digital tools? If so, this is definitely the class for you!

We will provide an introduction to the exciting world of digital representation, introducing techniques of 3D modeling and rendering. This course will be great for anyone interested in architecture, animation, and digital design.

No experience necessary!

A11625: Design School Confidential: What the First Year of Art and Design School is REALLY Like
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Steven Faerm

Thinking of applying to art/design school? Wondering about the differences between your high school- and college-level art/design courses? Looking for ways to prepare for a successful transition and have an amazing art/design school experience?

The goal of this informal presentation and discussion is to de-mystify the first year experience of art/design school. The presenter, an Associate Professor at Parsons School of Design, recently completed a year-long research study that examined students’ transition from high school to design school. He will present his findings so that you can learn what college seniors and recent graduates said about their first-year experiences. What was it like? How could it have been easier and better?

Following this brief overview, an informal conversation will allow you to ask your own questions and receive advice about the art/design school application process, portfolio development, coursework, future careers, and so much more. All students are welcome, and you are asked to bring any/all questions!

A11899: Making Art Without Materials: Art as Philosophy
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Nova Reilly

In this class, we'll discuss possible ways to conceptualize and think about "Art" as something greater than drawing and painting. We'll talk about how to use art to start discussion and present philosophical ideas. We'll also delve deeper into a modest intro to Performance Art, Audience Participation, and Relational Aesthetics- Can interacting with your friends be considered "Art"? Let's try it out!

If you like trying on new ideas for size, come join in! No drawing or painting ability required- just an open mind and a willingness to stretch it a bit further as we try to define the undefinable; "Art."

A11898: Abstract Art Appreciation & Compositional Games
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Nova Reilly

Come learn the ins and outs of Abstract Expressionism, its importance, why it's AWESOME, and make some of your own!

Make some abstract art on your own, collaborate with other students, and brush up on your intuitive compositional skill while playing abstract art compositional games.

Much like figure drawing and representational drawing ability, the ability to invoke emotions, use colour and form, and construct vibrant, active compositions are all important principles to learn and practice to enhance your artistic skill.

A11622: Creating Design, Creating Story
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Steven Faerm

How do designers create and develop ideas? What is “conceptual thinking”? Are you thinking of becoming a designer?

This 40-minute power-point lecture explores the design process: Design thinking, research methods, conceptualization, motif, storytelling, creative processes, and more are shown in both student and professional work. A full analysis of an Alexander McQueen collection that incorporates all of the key elements concludes the power-point presentation. While this lecture uses fashion design as its primary ‘lens’, the ideas discussed are applicable to all areas of design such as graphics, architecture, industrial design, animation, fine arts, and many more.

Presented by Steven Faerm, Associate Professor, Parsons School of Design.

A11565: Lighting Design Workshop - Intermediate
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jakob Weisblat

We will design lights for a short play - we'll go through an abbreviated process from watching a recording of the play to doing visual research and choosing colors, to imagining scenes, to programming cues. We'll end with a performance where y'all are the lighting designers.


Prerequisites
Some lighting and/or theater tech experience. You should have used a light board and hung a light before.

A11723: Introduction to Puppyhammer and Meteorhammer
Difficulty: **

No, we don't hammer puppies. Come learn how to spin a fun new prop! You will learn the what the different modes of spinning are for a puppyhammer, then learn basic meteor and contact moves that can be done both with a puppyhammer and a meteorhammer. Experience with other props (poi, staff, etc.) is welcome. No experience with any spinning is even more welcome!

A11624: How Designers Design: Effective, Efficient, and Expeditions Ways for Generating Ideas
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Steven Faerm

Ever wonder how artists and designers create such incredibly creative work? How do they draw inspiration from their environment in literal and figural ways? How are these visual and conceptual elements abstracted to create design motifs? How are these motifs then manipulated to produce art and design?

This workshop will introduce you to the basic design process! We’ll first look at the work of fine artists (such as Ellsworth Kelly), designers (such as Alexander McQueen), and architects (such as Aoki Jun) to learn how images, research, and concepts combine to create ideas, motifs, and designs.

Then, we’ll develop our own motifs and design processes. These can be based on your own pre-selected images/photos (or from images/photos supplied by the teacher during class). Although we’ll talk a lot about design in the context of fashion design, you can create any type of art and design you wish during the workshop!

You’ll leave the class with lots of “raw” design ideas and sketches that can then be used to develop more finished work!

A12006: A Cappella Arranging Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Abhijit Mudigonda

Ever wanted to learn how to write pieces like those performed in Pitch Perfect or Glee?

Well now you can! We'll start by going over the basics of arranging a song for a cappella. Then you'll get to split into groups and try arranging your own pieces!

(If you haven't heard much acappella before and want to get a sense for it, check these out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tffl66nJPWY, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOTtCjGqXYo)


Prerequisites
Knowledge of basic music theory (time/key signatures, major/minor scales and chords, etc.) recommended.

A11700: Don't Go To Film School
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Ari Donnelly

Are you interested in becoming a Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Actor, Editor, Animator, Cinematographer, Production Designer, Gaffer, Sound Mixer, Steadicam Operator, Costume Designer, Casting Director, Talent Agent, or Boom Op?

Are you thinking of going to Film School to learn more? Don't. It's a trap. Come to my class instead. You'll get a crash course in:

-The many disciplines of film.
-The best film schools you shouldn't go to.
-How you can start making movies now.
-The truth about unpaid internships.
-What a Best Boy is.

Filmmaking is a hard path, but despite what college tuition would suggest, it's never been cheaper. So for the price of Splash, I'; give you the inside scoop on the most dubious college major of all time (other than political science).


Prerequisites
All are welcome, whether you've never touched a camera, or you're already making your own movies.

A11877: Recipe for K.F.C. (Korean Fried Chicken) and Korean Dramas Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Amanda Wu

Learn how to make Korean fried chicken while comparing the process to the formulation of a Korean drama series.

A11921: Juggling
Difficulty: *

Learn how to throw balls in the air and gradually drop them less.

A11518: From Swans to Spartacus: Ballet in the Soviet Union
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jessica Oehrlein

We often associate classical ballet with Imperial Russia. However, ballet was also culturally important during the Soviet period, and balletic developments in the Soviet Union were really different from those elsewhere. We'll talk about the history of Soviet ballet, how it influenced and was influenced by ballet in the West, and why only a few Soviet ballets survived the fall of the Soviet Union.

A11864: ALL THAT JAZZ
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jennifer Wang

Have dance experience, or want to just bring out your inner diva? This class is for you! Let's learn and stage one of the most iconic jazz dances of all time, featuring: some serious attitude, jazz hands, and just enough circular hip movements to make you feel slightly uncomfortable.

A11692: Life Mapping
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Kyle Branchesi

Learn how to express the beauty of the spaces you're closest to. Your school, your home, or even a building you love in your city are all possible subjects for this class, where we will discuss what makes these spaces special and capture their beauty in drawings, photographs, and other mediums!


Prerequisites
No set requirements, a knowledge of Adobe products (Illustrator or Photoshop) encouraged - but not required

A11676: Design for the Everyday Object
Difficulty: **

Today, we are not aware of the importance of the everyday objects we use in life. However, these objects have become an extension of our being. We utilize them beneath the surface of our consciousness and do not consider their design, materials or geometries until prompted to make one.


Prerequisites
Bring your imagination and creative thinking.

A11715: Intro to Calligraphy
Difficulty: *

Learn to hand-letter in brush and Gothic scripts! Get ready to impress all of your friends with your amazing handwriting prowess!


Prerequisites
Hands

A11616: Bad Acting Appreciation
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Victoria Provost

An hour of film analysis, laughs, and ABC's! Featuring the esteemed work of Nicholas Cage, Kristen Stewart, and other spectacularly sub-par acting examples.

A11911: Modular Origami
Difficulty: **

Create beautiful geometrical origami creations in multiple colors!

A11691: Dance Rueda de Casino (Group Cuban Salsa)
Difficulty: *

Learn to dance Rueda de Casino, a group form of dancing Casino (Cuban Salsa)!


Prerequisites
Willingness to move and dance with everyone!

A12009: Gouache Painting Studio
Difficulty: **

Come learn and experiment with a rather underappreciated medium, gouache! Made of lots of pigment with a small amount of binder, gouache lets you paint opaquely, like acrylic, yet also use watercolor techniques when diluted. We'll go over some gouache techniques, then have studio time to work on your own paintings.


Prerequisites
some drawing/painting experience helpful, but not necessary

A11753: The Art of Cardmaking
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Divya Ramamoorthy

Do you have a birthday or holiday coming up that you need a card for? Have you ever walked through the greeting cards section of a store and wondered how they are made?

This class will teach you how to make beautiful handmade cards. We'll cover rubber stamping, paper layering, and embossing techniques - and everything you need to know to make cards on your own! This class is for everyone, from avid cardmakers to first time crafters.

Each student will get to take home their handmade cards!

A11617: Broadway Singalong! Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Victoria Provost

Exactly what it sounds like! Jam out to classic tunes like "Defying Gravity," "Satisfied," and "Seize the Day." Jazz squares and time steps welcome!


Prerequisites
MUST be willing to participate.

A11900: Learn to Knit Full!
Difficulty: *

Learn to knit! Ever wanted to knit yourself a hat, sweater, scarf, or toy for your cat?

We'll teach you!

We'll provide the yarn and needles, you just bring your hands and some patience.

No experience required, just willingness to play with sticks, yarn, and the realization that it will seem awkward at first (with practice, it becomes smooth and relaxing!)


Prerequisites
two working hands.

A11544: Fugues! (FYOOgz)
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Henry Hu

You may have heard of The Master, but are you interested in learning about his coolest works, the mighty fugues? Do you go on YouTube often to learn about stuff? Do you want to hear music in a new, more immersive way?

Let's discuss what a fugue is, what makes it special, and then listen to a bunch of fugues with visual graphs from YouTube to help us understand. We will listen to everything from "child's play" to "in one ear and out the other" and everywhere in between! Figure out why people have been listening to this beloved work for centuries...


Prerequisites
Some ability to read music is preferred, curiosity and motivation are mandatory! And ears!

A11850: Creative Cartography with Vinyl Cutters
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Kate Weishaar

Have an interest in graphic design or making? Jealous of how the folks at FiveThirtyEight always make such attractive maps and graphs? Come learn Creative Cartography and get a chance to cut your own multi-layered map stickers or posters on a vinyl cutter! You'll learn basic vinyl cutting techniques as well as ways to use colors, fonts, and lines to manipulate your audience.

A11969: Korean Pop Dance: Boy in Luv
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Eric Jiang, Laura Pang

BTS is a Korean boy group that has become extremely popular in recent years. You might have heard news about them winning the Billboard Music Awards for Top Social Artist. Come and learn one of their older songs, Boy in Luv, and enjoy their style of dance and music! All levels welcome :)

A11612: Drawing Shiny Things
Difficulty: **
Teachers: sarah dohadwala

Learning how to draw reflective surfaces that interact with light in cool ways.


Prerequisites
some drawing experience

A11563: Improv Workshop
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jakob Weisblat

Let's play improv games together! From freeze to taxi to zip-zap-zop, it'll be lots of fun. No experience required.

A11636: Intro to Podcasting
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Trujillo

Want to learn how to record and edit podcasts? Then this is the class for you.
Do you like listening to podcasts and want to come dissect them? Then this is the class for you.
We will look at different podcasting styles and what going into making them.

We will be using Audacity to edit the audio so if you want to download it to follow along that would great. It's free.

A11912: Firespinning!
Difficulty: **

Without the fire.

Learn how to spin, but not the kind with yarn. We'll be teaching dragon staff and poi. Be prepared to hit yourself (we have). Snacks will be provided.


Prerequisites
A tolerance for getting whacked and being frustrated at first.

A11591: Learning Odissi, an Indian Classical Dance Form!
Difficulty: *

We'll learn steps in an art form that has lasted thousands of years and put it to modern-day music! We'll also talk about how this type of dance has reached the form it's in today.

A11634: How to Play Piano by Ear
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Anthony Liu

Do you play piano? Do you want to play your favorite pop/EDM/r&b songs without having to find and purchase sheet music? If you already have a basic set of piano playing skills, then playing piano by ear is easier than you may think. In this class, we'll go over a step-by-step process to playing songs by ear, covering topics such as finding the key of a song, identifying chords, playing rhythmic patterns, and improvising. Note: you do NOT need to know how to read sheet music to take this class (that's kind of the point) :)


Prerequisites
* should be able to play basic melodies and chord progressions * ~1-2 years of experience playing; you should be able to play with both hands comfortably * you don't need any formal training!!! * you definitely do NOT need to know anything about sheet music

A11808: How to speak in public without peeing your pants!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jim Flannery

In this class, I will help you overcome your fear of public speaking through a set of fun activities sure to make you laugh while you learn. I taught this workshop for the first time at last year's Splash and have been fine-tuning it over the last year. Whether you want to be a social activist, stand-up comedian, hip hop artist, or just want to feel more comfortable giving presentations at school - this class will help you!


Prerequisites
none

A11535: Analyzing Children's Media
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ethan Vo

We'll watch a cartoon, read some comics, listen to a stage musical, and then discuss the material as a group. Since the works are intended for children, the content will be simple but also deal with rather complicated issues. Some examples of such subjects include gender, American democracy, and schadenfreude in entertainment. Another aspect of discussion includes the presentation methods of each work and its form of media.

This course is intended to be a small seminar which emphasizes student-led discussion.


Prerequisites
A willingness to participate in discussion.


Languages and Literatures

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B12013: 28200 Seconds of Lojban, Fragment 1
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

Lojban is a language invented in 1987 that is designed to be logical. It has characteristics that cannot be found in any natural language. While it is not possible to become fluent in a language in a day, students will learn how to do many important things about Lojban, such as constructing compound words, parsing sentences, understanding how Lojban avoids syntactic ambiguity while allowing significant freedom, recognizing and using most of the common grammatical structures, and talking about many things in everyday life. Methods to continue learning Lojban after this class will also be discussed significantly. Do not worry about having to focus continuously for such a long time; we will take breaks.

Update: due to certain considerations, the originally planned 28200 second class had to be broken into two shorter classes with an hour of break in between. This is the first class of the series and assumes no prior knowledge of Lojban, and it can be taken independently of the second class.

B11627: Learn the International Phonetic Alphabet!
Difficulty: **

Or, [lɝn ði ɪntərnæʃnəl fənɛdɪk ælfəbɛt]!
Ever seen a word's pronunciation on Wikipedia and not understood how to read it? Ever wanted to be able to precisely and accurately explain how to say a certain word? Come learn the IPA! You'll understand the basics of how to transcribe American English pronunciation, and if we have time, we'll begin to cover sounds that appear in other languages.


Prerequisites
Must not be afraid of unfamiliar words.

B11668: The Persian Writing System 101
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Annalise Pforr

We will be tackling the Persian/Farsi alphabet in 50 minutes!

Join in to learn about Persian pronunciation (it's mostly phonetic!), the beauty and technicalities of conjoined letters, and some Persian calligraphy basics-- how to write your name, ect.. We'll also be analyzing examples of the script and letter combinations as they appear in ancient and modern art.

Absolutely no prior knowledge of Persian is necessary, although those who can already read Arabic or Urdu will have an upper hand.

B11733: Making it in Moscow: A Splash! Course in Introductory Russian
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Marcella Lusardi

Take a journey east to learn the mysterious language of the czars, the Soviets, and the modern-day natives of the largest country in the world—Russia! An introductory course in the Russian language and culture for the absolute beginner. We'll cover the alphabet, some culture, and a few phrases.

B11534: Chinese Characters Breakdown
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Marianne Olsen

Sheep + Big = ... Beautiful? It does in Chinese writing!

Chinese characters barely look pictographic anymore, but we'll look at some interesting character breakdowns. You won't actually learn Chinese from this class, but you'll hear about radicals and hopefully some fun origin stories for some characters.


Prerequisites
If you already know Chinese, this class is probably way too basic for you :)

B11538: 28200 Seconds of Lojban, Fragment 2
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

Lojban is a language invented in 1987 that is designed to be logical. It has characteristics that cannot be found in any natural language. While it is not possible to become fluent in a language in a day, students will learn how to do many important things about Lojban, such as constructing compound words, parsing sentences, understanding how Lojban avoids syntactic ambiguity while allowing significant freedom, recognizing and using most of the common grammatical structures, and talking about many things in everyday life. Methods to continue learning Lojban after this class will also be discussed significantly. Do not worry about having to focus continuously for such a long time; we will take breaks.

Update: due to certain considerations, the originally planned 28200 second class had to be broken into two shorter classes with an hour of break in between. This is the second class of the series, and while it can be taken independently of the first class, it builds on some (though not all) of the material covered in the first class.


Prerequisites
Students who are not taking the first class of the series are encouraged to study a little bit of Lojban on their own by reading online materials. A few hours of study should suffice. However, this step is optional, and not doing this preparation will not significantly affect the learning of material in this class.

B11709: Make Your Own Language: Linguistics and Conlanging
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Chris Eschler

Have you ever felt the urge to be able to speak or write in a language of your own creation? Whether it's for your own enjoyment, to communicate secretly with friends, or simply to gain a better understanding of what characterizes language, this class aims to teach you about the principles of human languages in the context of artificially designing them. We will cover the sounds of spoken language, writing systems, types of constructed languages (conlangs), and the basics of grammar and syntax. The class will consist of both lecture and discussion portions, including some time for you to work in groups designing or brainstorming ideas. Although you will not have time to create a full-fledged language, you will be introduced to resources and information to help you along your way.


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of grammar

B11742: How to make your own writing system!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Helen Read

If you've ever wanted to create a secret code that only you and your friends can read? Do you want to make a fancy script for your fantasy world? Do you just like writing systems?
In this one hour class, we'll discuss the different writing systems of the world before delving into making a unique way of writing English! (or another language or conlang if that applies)

B11747: The Power of Accents
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Hannah Holden

Ever wondered how Hollywood actors can change their accent with the snap of their fingers? Or why certain accents sound so different than others? In The Power of Accents, with the help of some introductory phonetics, we will look at speech as a human faculty, and discover that what we say is just as important as how we say it.

B11557: You Are What You Speak: An Introduction to Linguistic Relativity
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Katie O'Nell

Have you ever wondered if the language(s) you speak shapes the way you conceptualize the world? Well you're not alone! It's a contentious area in linguistic and cognitive research, so I don't have any definitive answers for you, but if you want to learn more about the related literature and current theories, this is the class for you!


Prerequisites
A love of language and the human mind :)

B11626: Hangul 101
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jasmine Lennert

Come learn to read and write Korean! We'll cover the alphabet, some history, and a lot of pronunciation rules

B11813: Intro to Latin (and general Roman weirdness)
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Batson

Learn everything that's strange about Latin and ancient Rome over the course of an hour!

B11541: Basic Lojban
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Robert Kao

Learn Lojban, a constructed language designed to be unambiguous, culturally neutral, and precise. By the end of the course, students will be able to compose simple, grammatical Lojban sentences.

B11779: Basic Japanese for Basic Weebs
Difficulty: *

Basically a Basic Japanese Language class taught by people who know basic Japanese. By the end of this intensive 2 hour class, you'll be able to watch anime without any subtitles!!!


Prerequisites
NOTHING

B11835: Consonant Phonology: Strange Sounds of the World's Languages
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Roan LaPlante

In this course we will go over the theory, anatomy, and orthography (International Phonetic Alphabet) of different consonant sounds, including sounds in English and lots of amazingly fun sounds that are not at all like sounds in English.

This is a very interactive course, with an emphasis on speech production.

B11740: How to make your own language
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Helen Read

Learn how to construct your own personal language, from phonetics to grammar! A basic intro to IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) will be included, as well as how to get started, and good features to include, as well as ways to avoid a copy of English or a "kitchen sink" conlang.

B11684: Learn Lojban Through Music
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

Learn a little Lojban by singing songs that members of the Lojban-speaking community have composed and published.


Prerequisites
Knowing the pronunciation rules of Lojban, of which there are only a few, is really helpful. Other than that, as much Lojban as you want.

B11892: Marhaban Bikum! or, Who Wants to Learn Some Arabic?
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Lydia Brown

I spent four-six years (arguable either way) of my life cramming Modern Standard Arabic and two dialects into my brainspace, including a stint in Jordan. Ever wanted to know how to swear at p -- er, make small talk in Arabic? Come to this class and I will spit some of it up for you! You will learn how to write in the Arabic alphabet, how to sound out unfamiliar words, and how to say some useful basic phrases -- if we're lucky, you'll even progress to basic conversation and then you can go home and impress your friends and family with your ability to correctly pronounce all of those words every newscaster totally butchers!


Prerequisites
Willingness to potentially embarrass yourself in front of a roomful of people. Ability to make weird sounds with your throat. Also, a throat. (Throats with trachs welcome.)

B11560: Fantasy World-Building
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ben Johnson

Have you ever wanted to create your own world just like Middle Earth? Or maybe that's a bit too one sided for you and you prefer Azeroth. Or maybe that's just got too many things going on and you'd prefer Earth, but with Hogwarts. Or maybe we're still too close to home and we should head to Tattooine. In this class we will be exploring what all of these worlds have in common and how we can build one from scratch. We will also design the blueprint of one in class.

B11641: American Sign Language for beginners
Difficulty: **

American Sign Language (ASL) is used by many Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (and other) people in the US. ASL is not English and has its own grammar, idiomatic expressions, and literature.

In this class, we will start 100% VOICES-OFF, and build up your ASL abilities through gestures, writing, and, well, ASL itself. By the end of the class, you will be able to meet a signer, introduce yourself to a signer, and have simple conversations with a signer.


Prerequisites
We will learn it in class, but if possible, please practice the ASL manual (fingerspelling) alphabet.

B11712: Learn Japanese Instantly
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Cory Lynch

We have two hours. By the time you leave, you'll know the entire Japanese language. (ok maybe not)

Prepare to speak a lot in the class! We'll be doing a lot of drills to make sure you speak like a true 日本人.


Prerequisites
No prior Japanese needed.

B11606: Languages of Middle Earth
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ryker Reed

Love Lord of the Rings? Ever wondered where all the names in Middle Earth come from? Come find out more about the complex linguistic systems underlying Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series. For instance, did you know that Tolkien was a linguist and actually invented an entire Elvish language before even writing the Lord of the Rings books? Learn about some of the real world languages that inspired and influenced Tolkien’s invented languages. And find out more about the history of Middle Earth and how its languages came to be what they are now.


Prerequisites
None, if you've taken this class before, it will be the same material.

B11800: Introduction to ASL Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Karen Camacho

Ever wanted to learn American Sign Language? Take the first step! In this course, we'll cover the basics, including, but not limited to, the alphabet, sign language parameters, the history, greetings, and common phrases.

B11537: Lojban Until We Die
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

Will you not have had enough fun by the end of Splash? Or do you just want as much Lojban as possible?

The teacher will keep talking about Lojbanistan and its language. The level of the presented material will depend on the amount of Lojban the students already know. If permitted, the class will extend well past the stated end time and stop only when everyone falls asleep, or all of the students' parents absolutely $$\textit{have}$$ to pick them up, or we get persecuted, or continuing is judged to be too dangerous.


Prerequisites
As much Lojban as you want

B11982: a fifty-minute introduction to historical linguistics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sasha Barish

in this class you'll learn a few things about the field of historical linguistics, and how languages change over time. i'll explain the basics of how sound change works and how some grammatical changes work, and i'll talk about the ways that people can tell whether different languages are related to each other and what those languages were like thousands of years ago, when they weren't even written down.


Prerequisites
None.

B11608: Quirky Linguistics
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ryker Reed

Like linguistics or just enjoy thinking about language? Ever noticed how weird language can be? Come learn about some of the quirkier aspects of language. We'll discuss things ranging from infixation (putting words inside other words) to semantic implication (things we say without actually saying them), and semantic satiation (that thing that happens when you say a word too many times and it stops meaning anything). Come enjoy the strangeness of language!


[Deprecated] Computers and Programming

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C11605: Advanced Algorithms
Difficulty: ***

Forget the boring basic algorithms. In this class we will push the border of what is currently known and explore some of the coolest and mind blowing algorithms! Don't worry if you get lost because we are too!


Prerequisites
Familiarity with a little bit of programming would be helpful but not required.

C11576: Programming For A Living: What They Don't Teach You In School
Difficulty: *
Teachers: John Gregg

I've been doing this for a long time, and there is a lot more to doing it happily and well than clever coding. This class will cover a lot of issues that pertain to any white collar/corporate job, then delve into some of the challenges particular to doing software engineering for a company. "Dilbert" gets some things right and some things wrong.

C11566: What's in an Operating System: Syscalls, Drivers, and Resource Management
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Jakob Weisblat

Your computer has a lot of stuff that makes it work, and we're gonna take a big bite out of how some of that happens.


Prerequisites
Basic familiarity with programming or a passing understanding of what's in your computer

C11562: Basics of TI-BASIC Full!
Difficulty: **

Tired of doing the same calculations over and over again on school worksheets? Sick of doing Riemann sums by hand? Don't know what a Riemann sum is? Doesn't matter! In this class, we will teach you the basics of programming your TI calculator to do the work for you. Harness the power of the pre-installed language inside your calculator to help you with repetitive worksheets, make some easy games, and learn some easy programming along the way.


Prerequisites
We will be using a TI-8X series calculators in this class(TI-82 series, TI-83 series, TI-84 series, and any variation on the TI-83 and TI-84 (e.g. TI-84 SE, TI-84 CE, etc.)). If you have one of these calculators, feel free to bring it to class. If you do not have one, we will provide a few in class to share. Also, a very basic understanding of programming is helpful, but not required.

C11821: Graph Search and 15-Puzzles
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Nathan Hunt

We'll learn what a graph is (hint: this kind is more like cities connected by roads than an x and y axis) and how we can find good paths in graphs. Then we'll see how we can represent a 15-puzzle as a graph and solve it by finding the right path. I'll provide the starter code, and you'll implement the graph search (in the Python programming language). This class should help you see how graph techniques could be applied to real world problems and have fun programming one yourself. See here (https://neighthan.github.io/graphs_and_games/eight_puzzle.html; just click play) for what this sort of puzzle looks like.


Prerequisites
Basic programming experience (e.g. for loops, if statements), ideally in Python. You can gain this in not too much time by going through the basics at this website or a similar one: https://www.learnpython.org/

C11841: Functions, and Nothing Else
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: David Bau

Learn how to write any program without using numbers, operators, loops, conditionals, or memory -- nothing but functions applied to other functions applied to other functions.

An introduction to the untyped lambda calculus, a human-readable programming language with only one keyword. Starts from first principles and builds Church encodings and the fixed-point Y combinator.


Prerequisites
Some programming experience or a firm grasp of high school algebra.

C11580: Intro to Game Design and Development
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Julian Hernandez

What makes games fun, and how do you make them in the first place? What jobs are involved in the game development process? How can you get started on the path to make the games you've envisioned a reality?

Join us for a fun, hands-on experience in discussing the art of games and making one ourselves using GameMaker:Studio 2 (the same development environment used to make hit games like Hotline Miami and Undertale!). No previous programming or game design experience required.

C11987: Pacman: The Untold Story
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Kevin Chen

Ever wondered how the game of pacman worked? How do those ghosts always manage to trap you? Is there even an end to this terror? Find out all that and more as we go through the history and mechanics of this iconic game.

C11644: Enumerative Combinatorics with Haskell
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Brian Chen

Haskell is an elegant functional programming language used in academia and industry alike. Enumerative combinatorics is the study of counting, or "how many?": from "how many ways can you arrange the numbers 1 to 10 in a row?" to "how many pattern locks can you enter into an Android phone?" Learn how to program and count cool things with the coolest programming language ever!

In this course, we'll dive into Haskell with a focus on the features that make it mathematically appealing and useful for listing and counting combinatorial objects, from permutations, partitions, and Fibonacci numbers to completely ad-hoc structures made up for fun. Who knows, we might even get to cover a little category theory.<


Prerequisites
Familiarity with programming (in any language), and preferably with recursion in particular. Basic knowledge of — and passion for! — counting/combinatorics.

C11986: How fast can you search through k lists?
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Andy Wei, Kai Xiao

Some of you might know how to search for an item in a sorted list very fast. How about 2 lists at a time? How about 20 lists? Or k lists?

Is the answer $$O(k \log n)$$? Nah, we can do (much) better.

We'll tackle the problem of searching for an item in many lists efficiently using the technique of fractional cascading. [Spoiler alert: it actually takes the same amount of time as searching in 1 list!...almost]. Then, we'll see how fractional cascading can be applied to solve a variety of geometric problems in theoretical CS.


Prerequisites
Ideally, has heard of "binary search."

C11553: How Do Computers Add?
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Marcus Boorstin

How do computers add? What happens behind the scenes when your program runs the line "int z = x + y;"? This may seem simple for you, but it's NOT for your computer. We'll discuss the nitty-gritty of how hardware adders work, starting with transistors and working our way up through logic gates to the complex hardware algorithms modern computers use.

C11837: Intro to Regular Expressions, Or, How to Find Anything Very Quickly
Difficulty: **

Regular Expressions, often shortened to regex or regexp, are a very powerful tool for find and replace operations, but people often get scared off by how confusing it looks.

In this class, we will start from the basic building blocks of regex, and get as far as we can. We'll probably move pretty quickly through the material, but you will be armed with the tools and understanding necessary to work everything out for yourself outside of Splash.


Prerequisites
Knowledge of a programming language may be helpful, but not required.

C11703: Promiscuous Mode-Network Protocol Analysis
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Harvey Yee

Do you want to be in Promiscuous (Monitor) mode? You may if you are a network engineer. Join us in learning what is involved in Network Protocol analysis, and along the way learn about network architecture and protocols. Depending on what is available in the classroom, a demonstration of a wired or wireless network session will be provided. A free copy of Linux LiveCD will be provided so that you can continue your learning of network protocol analysis after this class.


Prerequisites
None: Just a sense of curosity and adventure!

C11646: Machine Learning
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jessica Pointing

Learn the basics of machine learning! After this course, you should be able to understand what machine learning is, and how to use it in your own projects!

C11869: Intro to Circuits and Coding with Arduino
Difficulty: **

Learn the basics of building a circuit on a breadboard. Program an LED light to blink in time with music using an Arduino. An Arduino is a small device that allows your code to come alive on your circuit. No prior knowledge of circuits, programming, or Arduino is required for this class.

C11568: How Computers Understand Music
Difficulty: ***

We'll start with different ways in which computers understand music, then proceed onto running some code that analyzes audio files; we'll figure out what chord progressions are going on and maybe even do some music identification.


Prerequisites
You should be familiar with python and have a basic understanding of music theory.

C11847: Breaking crypto with Z3 Full!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Rahul Sridhar, Ray Wang

Z3 is a powerful theorem prover/SMT solver developed by Microsoft. We will use it to break hash functions, pseudo-random number generators, and more.


Prerequisites
Python (necessary)

C11724: Theoretical Thinking Machines
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Joshua Gruenstein

When we think about artificial intelligence, we often study the key: techniques like machine learning, neural networks, and bayesian nonparametrics which allow us to tackle more and more complex challenges. However, we often neglect to study the lock. In this short class, we will explore classifications of different types of computational tasks, and learn what exactly computers can do.


Prerequisites
Basic algebra and an ability to think abstractly. No computer science or advanced math experience required, although they might give you an interesting perspective.

C11726: Do all the Algorithms!
Difficulty: ***

A fast overview of the material covered in MIT's 6.006: Introduction to Algorithms. We will look at a wide variety of algorithms, and give examples of the problems that they can be used to solve. Potential topics covered include:
Asymptotic notation
Divide and Conquer algorithms
Sorting
Hash tables, stacks, queues, trees
Dynamic Programming
Graph algorithms


Prerequisites
Comfort with math up through pre-calculus. Some programming experience is also recommended.

C11831: Intro to ReactJS
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Rahul Yesantharao

Introduction to modern web development using ReactJS!


Prerequisites
JavaScript, NodeJS (basic knowledge)

C11704: Wireshark Workshop
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Harvey Yee

This is follow-up course to Promiscuous Mode-Network Protocol Analysis. In this course, we will hone our knowledge and skills in understanding and decoding network traffic, and pragmatics of placement and configuration of network taps.
Come prepared to get a deep dive into network protocol analysis by reviewing a variety of network case study traces in which we will discover the gory details involved in network forensics.


Prerequisites
None, other than a sense of curiosity and adventure!

C11647: Passwords Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brian Chen

Passwords are the ubiquitous cornerstone of authentication online, but people aren't very good at picking them. Learn about security best practices for picking and remembering passwords, and for keeping your online accounts safe in general. Also learn about other random futuristic forms of authentication and play with some really cool dice.

C12016: PID Motion Control for Robotics
Difficulty: ***

Learn basic robot controls, namely how robots and robot parts move from Point A to Point B smoothly and quickly. We will cover bang-bang control (yes, that's a thing), and progress to proportion, integral, and derivative control.

C11653: How to Data Visuals
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Matthew Farejowicz

You've probably worked with graphs and charts in Excel or Sheets, but how does one go about drawing pretty data visuals for a website? This class takes a look at the fundamentals of good data visualization, and some popular data viz libraries.


Prerequisites
Maybe some understanding of web design, but not really.

C11711: Let's make a video game! (2048)
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Philip Caplan

Did you win at 2048? Well now let's try to program it! You will be given some initial Javascript/HTML code and we will work together, building the programming concepts and filling in the rest of the code so you can have your very own version of 2048! The learning outcomes involve developing some simple programming concepts while picking up some Javascript/HTML along the way.


Prerequisites
Any kind of programming experience would be helpful but not necessary.

C11993: How to Multiply Quickly
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Arkadiy Frasinich

Computers help us every day by handling computation that is too hard for us to do by hand. One of those things that a computer can do much faster is multiplication. However, using the normal method you learn in school, even computers would find it difficult to multiply really large numbers. In this class, we'll try to be clever and figure out how to multiply really well.


Prerequisites
You should know how to multiply two numbers together, but beyond that I'll explain everything else in class.

C11577: What Is A Computer?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: John Gregg

You may know how to program, but what is a computer such that it needs programming? Everyone knows that computers "think" in 1's and 0's, but why, and what does this even mean? Poets welcome!

C11664: Network Fun 101
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Luis Alvernaz

This class will play out very much like "Fun with Network Friends" from 2600 magazine. The difference is in the fact that I used these attacks against some friends, and I will be going over more than just what 2600 went over:

-Names and a story
-TCP handshake
-OSI model
-switched/unswitched networks
-Man in the Middle
-reading those pcaps you got from MitM
-packet spoofing

(I also would like to use this opportunity to show how to safely use a network as to not be fooled by these attacks)
(yes, I made the title that because it sounded more fun)

*Disclaimer: this class is not meant to teach you to be a "1337 H4X0R", it's just about having fun and doing magic on networks*

C11675: Introduction to Linux and the Shell
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Matthew Feng

Linux is everywhere. From your phone to the web servers that host the websites you frequent, Linux powers most of the modern computing age. This course will teach you the basics of Linux, using both the graphical interface and command line, so that you can begin to tap into the capabilities Linux offers.

C11645: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brian Chen

We'll make fancy, stylish, delightfully clickable buttons with HTML and CSS for no reason except that we can. We'll learn about all sorts of CSS properties you can apply to buttons (and other things), old and new, mundane and bizarre, and see how major websites and CSS frameworks style their buttons.

C11940: Assembling Assembly Full!
Difficulty: ***

How does your computer actually execute instructions? What's the mystical and scary "assembly language"? We'll dive deep into how computers execute low level instructions, and you'll write your own short x86 assembly program.


Prerequisites
A little programming experience will be helpful.

C11960: What is a "what if"?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jason Gross

Say there's a $5 bill and a $10 bill on a table. You can take either one of them.

Which would you take?

The $10 bill, right? What if you took the $5 bill?

This is a surprisingly subtle question, especially when you consider the fact that you are a good decision-maker, and so must have had a good reason to take the $5 bill if you took it. It's subtle enough that many decision theories get it wrong. Come learn about four decision theories (evidential, causal, timeless, and updateless), and about the decision puzzles that demonstrate why none of these is an entirely satisfactory answer to the question "What is a 'what if'?"

C11827: Foundations of Computer Science: Lambda Calculus
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Angel Alvarez

In this 90 minute class, we will go over some of the core concepts of computability theory through an introduction to lambda calculus. This class will start with the history and context of this discovery, then we will dive right in to building mathematics and logic using lambda calculus.

C11527: Augmented Reality for Beginners
Difficulty: **

Looking for easy ways to surprise friends with your nerdiness? Found Pokemon Go interesting? This is the right class for you! We shall start from the basics to build a cool mobile application that lets you alter your reality.

All you need to have is a huge imagination!

C11584: Machine Learning: The Big Picture
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

A big topic these days is big data, and one way to tackle big data is with machine learning. Machine learning algorithms underlie many modern devices and are responsible for powerful voice recognition, self driving cars, image recognition, and the best Go player/computer in the world. How do computers/machines learn from data sets? How can they use past information in a rigorous way to give off the illusion (or not illusion) of intelligence (artificial intelligence)? We will look to answer these questions through a big picture approach. We will focus on concepts, and not the mathematics. However, probabilistic reasoning is crucial, and it is recommended that you take "Introduction to Probability".


Prerequisites
Knowledge on probability is recommended!

C11714: Practice Coding with CodinGame
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Cory Lynch

CodinGame is a website that gives you little problems to solve, and you try to write code for it as quickly or as efficiently as possible.

Join us as we compete with each other and teach each other new programming techniques!


Prerequisites
Prior programming experience. I'll be using Python, but you can use a different language.

C11739: How to train your computer to paint like Van Gogh
Difficulty: ***

Join us for a fun, intuitive introduction to machine learning! Learn about how computers can distinguish cats from dogs, write poetry, and even paint like Van Gogh.

C11548: How to Make Video Games
Difficulty: **

Want to learn how to make a video game? Come to our learnathon and find out how! We'll be learning how to use an industry game engine (Unity) to make video games, large or small, that can run on anything - a phone, a Nintendo 3DS, a computer, or even a VR headset! After learning about it, you'll get the chance to make your very own game, working in teams!


Prerequisites
Previous basic experience programming is helpful, but not a must. (If you know what an if statement, for loop, function, and class are, you'll have no trouble)

C11943: Computers Doing People Things
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Yilun Du, Alok Puranik

We'll talk about recent advances in deep learning! We'll cover using deep learning on tasks such as playing the games of Go, Space Invaders, Melee, generating algebraic geometry papers from scratch, automatically captioning images, synthesizing new realistic images of objects, synthesizing new pieces music and speech, translating text between languages, sentiment analysis of documents and more!


Prerequisites
None


[Deprecated] Engineering

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E11697: Intro to Fabric-Formed Concrete Full!
Difficulty: **

Come make weird, amorphous, blobby, chaotic, spectacular, one-of-a-kind forms out of concrete. We will be playing with textiles and getting messy!

E11955: History of Spaceflight
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Keenan Albee

A quick, condensed summary of manned and unmanned spaceflight, from Goddard and Tsiolkovsky to the emerging New Space industry. If you're curious about the origins of spaceflight and the heritage that shapes the space industry today, this is the course for you! No prerequisites needed; this course should be accessible to everyone.

E11764: Rockets!
Difficulty: *

Feeling weighed down? Blast off with the MIT Rocket Team! Come learn how rockets work, how to build one, and what it takes to reach orbit.

E11600: Egg Drop Challenge
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Kaitlyn O'Donnell

Want to do some hands on problem solving where you can work with and make friends with your peers? Do you like dropping things off of stairwells? Do you like coming up with eggcellent egg puns? Do you like rhetorical questions?

Then this class is for you! The plan is to take some everyday materials and try to protect an egg when we drop it off of a stairwell about a story off the ground. You'll be working in teams of four to complete a protection system in just 30 minutes! Seems like not a long time, but an hour was too easy last year.

I am determined to make this Egg Drop Challenge hard boiled, not over easy.

E11695: Photovoltaics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Keith Phuthi

Solar power holds lots of potential as a source of energy for the present and future. This class will help you understand the basics of how photovoltaic cells and other technologies work.


Prerequisites
Basic physics/chemistry

E11930: Materials Around Us!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mindy Wu

Why do rubbers stretch? Why does wood shear? What makes rain jackets waterproof? Learn about the materials around you and why they behave the way they do!

E11939: Intro to Robotics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Felipe Depine

This will be an introduction to Robotics class.
We will be covering the basics of actuators, sensors, and computers.
There will be lots of examples and stories....

E11840: Design for America Assistive Technology Workshop
Difficulty: **

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have a disability? Do you enjoy being creative and engineering innovative solutions to real problems? Do you like being hands-on and brainstorming? Learn about Assistive Technology and ideate innovative solutions with MIT’s Design for America! Learn more about us at http://designforamerica.mit.edu/.

E11878: Mechanical Madness
Difficulty: *

Ready to drink from a fire hose??? Learn ALLLL the cool mechanical engineering concepts through in class demos!

E11957: Nuclear Physics Seminar
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jacob Miske

A brief explanation of the importance of the neutron.


Prerequisites
Some differential equations hopefully.

E11642: Mechanical Engineering 101: Why big chunks of metal break
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Elliot Owen

A desperate ploy to convince the youth to become mechanical engineers by talking about big chunks of metal like combat robots, racecars, and machine tools.

Strength, stiffness, hardness and toughness aren't synonyms! Learn the best of 2.001 in 1 hour instead of a semester.


Prerequisites
Understand free body diagrams.

E11722: How do airplanes fly and satellites orbit?
Difficulty: **

Have you ever wondered how do airplanes fly? What kind of magic keeps them in the air? What about your LTE internet? How can satellites send internet to your phone (supposedly) everywhere? What kind of force keeps them orbiting around the Earth?
If you have ever found yourself wondering around those questions, this class is for you! We will guide you through understanding how airplanes fly and how satellites orbit!

E11596: From Molecular Conformation to Nanotechnology, Energy, and Medicine
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Albert Liu

This course surveys a broad range of disciplines (protein folding, nanotechnology, energy, and bio-medicine) that have been tremendously enhanced through accurate control of molecular conformation. We will touch upon specific examples on how a single tweak of something as small as a molecule could result in substantial changes in material function and chemical reactivity, which can lead to fundamentally novel platform technologies for energy generation and medicine.

E11973: Basic of Radio Station Engineering
Difficulty: **

This course will introduce participants to the basic of WMBR's (MIT FM Radio station) B Control engineering training.


Prerequisites
None

E11880: BEAM Robotics Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Paul Fucile

Come learn about biologically inspired robotics. BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics) robots are within a class that primarily use simple analog circuits to mimic natural behavior in response to environmental stimulus. In a departure from classic BEAM designs, we will use an analog/digital core to provide greater student project flexibility.


Prerequisites
Having some experience with DC motors, solar cells, or programming concepts helps, but will not be required. There will be no soldering involved, though we may need to move our project outside if it is a sunny day. Some note taking and paper and pencil sketching will be required.

E11829: Biomedical Optics: an intro to modern microscopy
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jungsoo Kim

Recent advancement in imaging technology is revolutionizing biology and medicine. Without getting into equations and too much technical details, we will have a high-level conceptual overview of modern light microscopy instrumentation such as confocal, multi-photon, and superresolution.

After a swift review of the elementary (e.g. what is light and how does lens work), we'll explore modern instrumentation techniques. By following the footsteps of ingenious scientists and engineers, we will catch up on the 400 years of discoveries and innovations in biomedical optics (imaging).


Prerequisites
High school physics

E11866: Exploring Aerospace

Come learn about exciting topics that relate to aeronautics and astronautics. We'll talk about current research, fascinating phenomena, and fundamental principles relating to aerospace engineering. Hosted by MIT's Women in Aerospace Engineering group.

E11614: I Heart Circuits
Difficulty: **

If you've ever wanted to learn how to use a breadboard, or how resistors, capacitors, and op amps work together to make magical circuits, or are just curious about electronics in general, stop your head scratching and take this class! Learn to understand the design of basic circuits through the process of building a heartbeat monitor! And guess what!! You get to take home and keep the heartbeat monitors you built! Take this class and you'll learn to heart circuits just as much as I do.


Prerequisites
Algebra

E11589: 3D Printing, Fabrication, And You!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: William Little

3D printing has grown in popularity over a very short period of time and is one of the most popular pieces of equipment in the maker movement! But wait, what is the maker movement? what is open source? what is all of this about? and apparently lasers and something called "CNC Milling" are involved too? what is all of this?

In this class, I will be talking about all of the above! We'll dive into 3D printing with a live printing demonstration and move into CNC milling and laser cutting. We'll then look at the bigger picture with home manufacturing, independence, and the maker movement! Get ready to smell the smell of progress as we melt some plastic and get creative.

E11964: Crazy about Lasers
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Katia Shtyrkova

Intro to the physics and design of lasers and laser systems; overview of various types of lasers, and discuss common and exotic laser applications, such as Airborne Laser and Free Electron Laser.
The first half of the class will be spent on basic laser physics, and understanding what makes lasers different from LEDs and other light sources. The second half of the class will be spent on learning about cool laser applications.

E11667: My Journey Into High-Power Rocketry
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Victor Lupi

Growing up, I played around with all sorts of Estes rockets, never knowing there was another level to the hobby. This course chronicles my journey through Level 1, Level 2 and (hopefully) Level 3 certification. Along the way, you will get a chance to see some cool videos and get your hands on a bunch of high-power rocketry components. Theoretical and practical aspects of the hobby will be discussed, and one lucky winner from each section will take home their own rocket kit!

E11758: How Airplanes (Actually) Work
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Chris Eschler

We've all heard the simple explanation for lift based on Bernoulli's principle. But is that really what keeps these 50-ton pressurized metal tubes in the sky? What other properties govern flight? This class will explore the history and engineering of airplanes as well as the science behind the physical laws that govern them. The information will be presented in a lecture format.


Prerequisites
Understanding of basic-level physics (mechanics)

E11781: Build a Bridge!
Difficulty: *

Learn about the engineering principles that go behind making a sturdy bridge that can withstand eminence forces without breaking. After learning about the engineering principles behind making a strong bridge, put your knowledge to the test making your own bridge and see how much weight it can withstand.

E11708: Introduction to Rocket Propulsion
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Catherine Miller

Have you ever wondered how rockets work and how we use them to explore the solar system? This course will cover the basic physics of rocket propulsion using Newton's laws of motion. The physics behind chemical rockets like the Space Shuttle main engine and electric propulsion thrusters such as ion engines will be presented both conceptually and mathematically.


Prerequisites
Knowledge of basic kinematics and Newton's laws of motion is required. Knowledge of basic chemical reactions and electrostatics is recommended. Calculus is not required.

E12010: Kerbal Space Program -- Relax, It's Just Rocket Science
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Srinivas Kaza

Have you ever wanted to design and test rockets, but didn't want to deal with multi-million dollar budgets and years of preparation? Well, this is the game/class for you!

We'll be playing Kerbal Space Program, a perfect middle-ground between brutally realistic rocket sim and space-themed fantasy. We'll be covering some basic rocket-related math and physics, and then play the game.

DISCLAIMER: I do not study anything related to rocket engineering/science.


Prerequisites
If you already know how to play Kerbal Space Program, this class is probably going to be pretty boring.


Humanities

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H11609: Intro to the Philosophy of Action Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Elise Bickford

What is left over if I subtract the fact that my arm goes up from the fact that I raise my arm? What makes an action different from a mere bodily motion? What is the role of desire and belief in action? What is a reason for action?

In this course we'll set out to understand and answer some of these fundamental questions about actions which still continue to puzzle philosophers today.
No philosophy background required!

H11849: What does your mother really mean, or how people use words
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Masa Mocnik

Your mum comes home and asks you: "Did you do the laundry or the dishes?" and you tell her: "Yeah, I did the laundry AND the dishes." She is going to be shining with pride. But if you're out in a fancy restaurant, about to order dessert, and your mum tells you: "The tiramisu is too expensive, but you can have the ice cream or the lava cake." Why does she get mad at you when you tell the waiter: "I'll have the ice cream AND the lava cake." After all, you stayed away from the tiramisu -- but she allowed you to order ice cream and she also allowed you to order the lava cake!

In the class we'll look at the different ways in which sentences mean much more than what they literally say, drawing on the insights from linguistics and philosophy. That way you'll always know what your mother really means.


Prerequisites
None.

H11915: How Rational Are We?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Dexin Li, Sarah Wang

Why do we like "free" so much? Why do we enter lotteries? Why is plain yogurt the same price as mixed fruit yogurt? Come and find out these answers, and about other biases that people unconsciously commit!


Prerequisites
None.

H11959: Emotional Sensitivity Training
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jason Gross

One of the most essential ingredients to successful emotional communication is awareness of what you're feeling, what others are feeling, and how these feelings evolve moment-by-moment. Come practice listening and sharing emotions and sensations as they arise moment-to-moment.


Prerequisites
Awareness of physical sensations in your body (heat, cold, the floor against your feet, the chair against your back, your clothes against your skin, your tongue in your mouth, etc.)

H11678: The 44 Sounds of English
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sophie Mori

Why does the 'e' in 'cases' receive an extra syllable when the 'e' in 'capes' does not? Do 'dogs' and 'cats' end with the same sound? Come learn about all the sounds in English, and then we will talk about how they work together.


Prerequisites
None!

H11771: Metamorphoses (not the Kafka book)
Difficulty: *

So, you think you know about Greek mythology? Maybe you've read over the Odyssey once or twice (extra props for those who read the Iliad). Maybe you've even watched Disney's Hercules and know all the songs by heart. But what if we were to tell you that there is so much more... perhaps even an entire book of myths. In fact, Ovid's Metamorphoses offers us a plethora of myths that we can spend a whole class talking about. We'll cover all your favorite myths (like Theseus and the Minotaur and Jason and the Argonauts) and hopefully teach you about some of your new favorite myths (get ready for Eryschthon)!

H11867: Bubble Tea and Humanity Full!
Difficulty: *

Have you ever wondered how to make Bubble tea? Do ever feel like you live in a bubble, and want to meet people who are different from you? If so, break out of the bubble, and take this class! You'll learn how to make Bubble tea, then share and learn from other students, coffeeshop-style. We'll talk about prejudices and biases, and how to connect with others wherever you are!

H11967: Building Histories for Your Fantasy, Science Fiction, or Dystopia Full!
Difficulty: **

In the year 2150, we've colonized Mars. How did we get from here to there?

On the planet Trzymy, there is a plot to overthrow the Usurper! How did he come to power and what is the heritage of his country?

We're doomed. We know we're doomed. The leaders say so. Has it always been this way? If not, when did things change and how?

Creating a solid history to lean on in your story telling can make the tale a lot easier to craft for an author, or at least a lot easier to follow for a reader!

We will work to understand how histories work and what we need to do to build them!


Prerequisites
Must love one or more of the genres in the title and have a desire to create your own!

H11934: International Relations and Model UN

Ever wanted to be the next leader of the free world? Learn more about international relations and Model United Nations!

H11532: Myth Matched: What do Hermes and Hermod have in common?
Difficulty: *

Cultures all around the world developed rich and varied bodies of myth, yet there are often striking similarities and differences. Come compare Greco-Roman, Norse, and other mythologies, discover weird comparisons and speculate about their origin, and consider interesting differences!

H11856: Animal Ethics
Difficulty: *

Is testing on non-human animals moral? Should we use animal products? Do non-human animals have rights? What does it mean to be an animal?
In this course, we'll address some tough and important questions about non-human animals and our moral relationships with them.

H11972: Asian Culture for Non-Asians (and Asians, too) Full!
Difficulty: *

This is a class for non-Asians and Asians alike to learn all about Asian culture! We'll cover everything from how to use chopsticks and pick a Boba flavor to geography of Asia, all while enjoying some delicious Asian food.

H11720: A Brief History of Brexit and the British Constitution
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Richard Ibekwe

Did you know that the Queen is the only person in the UK who can drive without a license and travel abroad without a passport? Did you know that Britain does not have a written constitution? Have you wondered what led to and has resulted from Britain's decision to leave the European Union? In this class, taught by a British MIT student, we'll explore these and other questions!


Prerequisites
None.

H11963: Making deep friendships - Circling Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jason Gross

Most of your Splash classes will be about objects and things. Some of your conversations will involve personal history, where you grew up, what you like and dislike. This class will be a third kind of conversation, about what our present experience is, as we're having it.

Access to this level of conversation has a way of facilitating deep connections where you can feel deeply seen and welcomed. Circling is a practice about getting others' worlds, sharing what it's really like to be you, and having that be seen and reflected. Come experience the magic.

H11729: Philosophical Dilemmas of Computer Science
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Anshula Gandhi

Can computers think? Can they feel? Can they pass as humans? Can they be creative? And what tests should we use to measure whether they are?


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of computers, possibly some knowledge of basic programming can be helpful but is not required

H11718: Ancient Egyptian Shenanigans
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jingyi Zhao

well they had a super long history. I will talk about some of my favorite stories.

H11965: Magic Systems in Fantasy Stories
Difficulty: **

We'll spend a good chunk of this class exploring how magic is presented in a variety of books and movies, after which we will see about constructung our own, either individually or collectively, as the class prefers.


Prerequisites
Must love fantasy stories!

H11833: Learn Predicate Logic!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Annika Heinold

Are you interested in philosophy, languages, and logic? This course will cover the basics of predicate logic from a philosophical perspective. We will cover truth functionality and connectives as related to predicates, as well as a basic deduction system and some strategies. If you like philosophy of language, logic, and proofs, you'll probably like this class.


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of propositional logic and truth functionality. We'll review, but some previous knowledge may help.

H11872: Free Speech in the U.S.: Definitions and Limits
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jessica Shi

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits, among other things, laws "abridging the freedom of speech." This right manifests itself in some pretty wonderful ways (we can publicly criticize our leaders, for example), but where do we draw the line? Should hate speech be protected? Or obscenity? Have you ever heard the phrase, "fire in a crowded theater"? ...Besides, what is speech, anyway? Does flag burning count? Does money?

We will explore and discuss this issue by examining a series of Supreme Court cases, both historic and recent, and determine where we stand on what is free speech, and what isn't.


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of U.S. history and the function of the Supreme Court is helpful, but not required.

H11760: Redemption Ethics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Riley Drake

According to Roman Catholic traditions, how is the soul of the sinner saved? What is the role of redemption, penance and repentance in the life and salvation of the believer. We will trace the historical development of repemption theories from Augustine, Aquinas, Lonerghan and other notable theologians.

H11971: Communication in Navigating Relationships, Friendships, Family Full!
Difficulty: *

Do you have questions or uncertainties about how to deal with dating, relationships, friendships, or family interactions? Do you have unmet desires for deeper connections, being more understood, or understanding others better?

Bring your questions, thoughts, and insights, and let's discuss these topics! We may also practice some exercises that I've found especially useful in my ability to communicate, foster emotional safety for myself and others, and resolve conflicts.

H11860: Were all the ancient Greeks and Romans really gay?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sasha Barish

"Why are so many people calling themselves LGBTQ nowadays when almost everyone was straight in the past?"
"Weren't all the ancient Greeks a little gay anyway?"
"I heard that in the past there was less of a gay/straight dichotomy and it was the norm for everyone to be bi."
"I was reading about this Roman emperor who was trans!"
People say lots of things about gender and sexuality in the ancient world, and in this class we'll be looking at some primary sources (in English translation!) and exploring the topic for ourselves. Together, we'll read ancient Greek and Roman texts ranging from accounts of gender dysphoria to lesbian love poems to the stigma of being a bottom, and we'll discuss questions like: What's going on in these texts? What are the larger frameworks of thought about how gender and attraction work, and how do they differ between ancient and modern societies? Can we make cultural generalizations based on a few documents, or can we only evaluate what the individual writer thinks? Does it make sense to label people in the past as LGBT?


Prerequisites
No preparation necessary: just come in open-minded, and ready to read and talk! Please note that this class will include academic and mature discussion of some sexually explicit texts.

H11815: Philosophy reading
Difficulty: **
Teachers: yc yu

Discussion on Aristotle's Politics and some other works.

Please read up to (at least) section 1288b before class:
http://perseus.uchicago.edu/perseus-cgi/citequery3.pl?dbname=GreekFeb2011&query=Arist.%20Pol.&getid=1

You can also get/borrow a paper copy:
http://www.worldcat.org/title/aristotles-politics/oclc/932784217


Prerequisites
Please sign up only if you can commit to the reading and participate in discussion.

H11977: Opera 101
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Gaurav Singh

Have you heard about this thing called opera? Do you want to know more about it? We will talk about a few famous composers, how operas are made, and a bit of the history of them.

H11876: Being Mortal: Ethics at the End
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Bryce Hwang, Jenny Li

Should physicians provide painful care they are 99% percent sure will not help? Is it irresponsible for physicians to lead on patients with overly optimistic prognoses?And what goals and expectations should we set at the end of our lives, and how do these impact us today? Come and explore these critical questions with us through the lens of Dr. Atul Gawande's book, Being Mortal.

H11759: History of the Catholic Church
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Riley Drake

Jesus gave "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" to Peter. Many centuries later, the papacy would become a kingdom in and of itself, ruling over the past not only the Papal States but the entirely of Medieval Europe. We'll trace the development of the Catholic Church from Jesus to the second Vatican council.

H11953: Circling - Intersubjective Mindfulness Meditation Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jason Gross

Most of your Splash classes will be about objects and things. Some of your conversations will involve personal history, where you grew up, what you like and dislike. This class will be a third kind of conversation, about what our present experience is, as we're having it.

There's a kind of magic to being deeply seen, and to being welcomed as you are. Circling is a practice about getting others' worlds, and sharing what it's really like to be you, and having that be seen and reflected. Come experience the magic


Prerequisites
You'll need to agree to practice honoring yourself---doing what you want to be doing, and refusing to do what you don't want to be doing.

H11661: Does God exist?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Peter Klapes

In this discussion-based course, we will explore the different arguments regarding the existence of God.

H11699: Playwriting Intensive
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jennifer Yoo

You want to write a play, but where do you start? Character? Setting? Structure? This course will provide an overview of the craft of playwriting, ideal for both beginner and advanced writers. Content will include character, language/dialogue, conflict and structure, setting, formatting, and more. There will be brief lectures, writing exercises, and time to share and discuss work.

Come in to class with whatever helps you write (laptop, pen and paper, etc) and be ready to hit the ground writing.


Prerequisites
Please come prepared to write, share, read other people's work aloud, and participate in discussion/giving feedback. Coming with an idea for a play beforehand is not required but you are more than welcome to do so (as is bringing works-in-progress to receive feedback)!

H11731: Be you, do you. How to leverage your identity
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Diane Mwizerwa

Have you ever struggled answering the why you question? Do you have trouble finding what makes you special? Then this class is for you.
We will explore what makes one unique. How you can identify parts of your background and experiences that makes you different and special.

H11834: Introduction to Socionics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Roan LaPlante

In this class we will review Socionics, a personality typology and branch of Jungian analytical psychology developed by a Lithuanian woman named Ausra Augustinavicitue in the 1970s. Socionics is moderately well popularized in Eastern Europe and almost unheard of in Western Europe or America.

Socionics is an abstract philosophical model and language for describing people and their social interactions, which attempts to answer the question, "How are different people different?" More concisely, it is a system of personality types. In this class, we will simultaneously review the conceptual foundations of this typology, and in doing so, we will address the problem of knowledge and numerous issues in practice. Specifically we will point out the problems and vagueness of the topic of personality types in itself, how it relates to science (socionics is *not* science) and ask what understanding personality types is actually useful for.


Prerequisites
A desire for self-knowledge and a willingness to think critically. Familiarity with MBTI is potentially helpful but also potentially detrimental. Some background in psychology is helpful but not needed.

H11662: Poetry and Philosophy Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Peter Klapes

In this course, we'll use poetry as a means of discussing a variety of philosophical topics.


Lunch

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L12008: Lunch Period
Difficulty: None
Teachers:

Enjoy a break for lunch with your friends! Please register for at least one lunch period on each day of the program.

L12007: Lunch Period
Difficulty: None
Teachers:

Enjoy a break for lunch with your friends! Please register for at least one lunch period on each day of the program.


Mathematics

[ Return to Category List ]

M11766: Fast Fourier Transforms done Fast
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Leo Alcock

Fourier transforms/Fourier series/Discrete Fourier transforms and finally yes, the fast Fourier transform have been a staple of the Splash scene. To continue on with this tradition, I'm going to be talking about FFTs from a computational number theory side (and hopefully a side you haven't seen before). The focus of the lecture will be understanding how computers multiply large integers using the FFT, and it will explore FFTs in (more) arbitrary rings and the three primes approach to integer multiplication.


Prerequisites
EIther having seen the fast fourier transform before in some setting or more usefully some experience with rings/fields would help.

M11746: Splitting Cake with Sperner's Lemma
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Nelson Niu

You and your friends have attained a large, multi-flavored cake. You would all like to eat some of that cake, but you each have slightly different preferences about what part of the cake you want. Some of you love the coconut shavings; some will avoid the chocolate icing at all costs. The large scoop of ice cream in the corner is particularly popular. Is there a way to split up the cake fairly amongst yourselves--without losing any friends in the process?

It turns out there is, and we can prove it! All it takes is a cute little theorem about coloring points in triangles called Sperner's Lemma. In fact, not only does our theorem tells us that a fair division exists, it can even tell us exactly how --plus or minus a sprinkle. Come see how it all works here!


Prerequisites
Some experience with proofs is recommended; you should, at the very least, know how to prove a statement by induction. It would also help to know what the graph of $$ x + y + z = 1 $$ looks like.

M11762: On the Infinitude of the Primes
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Mark Kong

We will prove that the sum of the reciprocals of the primes diverges and then prove that there are infinitely many primes in the sequence 1,5,9,13,...
We will generalize this to give a brief sketch of the proof that this holds in genera.
Then we will switch gears and use polynomials to give another proof that there are infinitely many primes in that sequence and see how far we can generalize this.


Prerequisites
Comfort with complex numbers. Also, a willingness to believe that $$\log(1-x)=-(a+\frac{a^2}{2}+\frac{x^3}{3}+\dots)$$ if $$|x|<1$$ will be necessary for a small portion. Note: I will try to define modular arithmetic in the class, but I have tried to do this in the past and I was not successful.

M11633: The Monty Hall Problem: Or, How To Be a Millionaire
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Krentz

You find yourself on a game show in front of 3 closed doors: behind one is $1,000,000; behind the other two is nothing. How do you tip the odds in your favor and go home a millionaire?
The answer, as always, is math.

M11909: Simple Models of Computation
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Adam Hesterberg

Almost all programming languages are equally powerful—anything one of them can do, they all can. We’ll talk about two less powerful models of computation—ones that can’t even, say, tell whether two numbers are equal. They’ll nevertheless save the day if you have to search through 200MB of emails looking for something formatted like an address.

This is a math class, not a programming one—we’ll talk about clever proofs for what those models of computation can and can’t do.

M11648: On "Finite Simple Group (Of Order Two)"
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brian Chen, Ashley Kim

Take a whirlwind tour of all the mathematics puns in the love song for math nerds *par excellence*. Learn just enough about topology, calculus, set theory, linear algebra, abstract algebra, differential geometry, and category theory to understand the lyrics and impress your friends, if your friends are the type to be impressed by math puns.


Prerequisites
Listen to the song a few times (it's easy to find on YouTube)

M11822: Higher algebra
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Mendel Keller

Hold on to your hats, because this is a roller coaster of algebra. I will be rapidly presenting a bunch of complex algebraic concepts, for any students who want a taste of the tougher stuff.

I will be presenting concepts such as local rings, tensor products and the Nullstellensatz.

This class is more a hophodge collection of topics in ring theory than a coherent train of thought, I will be introducing a concept, motivating it, provide an example or two, and then moving on to the next topic.

If you've been exposed to a bunch of abstract algebra (e.g. Artin, Dummit & Foote, Herstein) and would like to see what comes next, this is the class for you. I will be providing a glimpse of number theory and algebraic geometry, and the methods they employ.


Prerequisites
I will be assuming knowledge of the definitions of: group, ring, ideal, module, homomorphism, field, vector space. I will assume familiarity with the concepts: prime ideal, maximal ideal, principal ideal domain, unique factorization, quotient ring. I will also be assuming familiarity with basic properties of primes and polynomials. While it is ok if you don't know a few of these things, you MUST be familiar with more than half. These prerequisites are very strict, in that if you are not familiar with these notions you will understand nothing of what's going on. This course is intended to present a bunch of complex information fairly rapidly, and it's unreasonable to expect to understand it all, even with all the prerequisites. Consider yourselves warned. I will be e-mailing out a refresher sheet about a week before the class to remind you of the definitions I will be using, it is well worth reading this sheet to prepare for this class.

M11825: The Math In a Rubik's Cube
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Krentz

Ever wanted to learn to solve a Rubik's cube? Know the series of steps to solve a cube, but want to know the math behind why it works? In this course, we'll be learning some basic group theory and statistics to teach you how to solve a Rubik's cube from scratch!

M11575: Complex Numbers: Math That Will Freak You Out (at least a little bit)
Difficulty: **
Teachers: John Gregg

I promise this math will freak you out at least a bit. We will explore the existence or non-existence of nonsensical things called complex numbers, or less scarily, imaginary numbers (aren't they all?). We will end up deep, deep inside a certain blob called the Mandelbrot set, which is made of these "imaginary" numbers.

M11999: Generating Functions
Difficulty: ***

The Fibonacci sequence looks like 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,... You get it by starting with two 1s and getting the next number by adding the two previous ones. What is the millionth number you get? Rather than working it out, we'll find a quicker way to figure this out using generating functions, a really fun tool in math.


Prerequisites
You should be familiar and comfortable with adding and multiplying polynomials.

M11861: Mens et Manus in STEM and Music
Difficulty: **

The growth of a STEM-focused culture has unfortunately made many people believe that music and math/science are completely different subjects that do not intertwine. I believe that this is completely incorrect, and that music uses math and science principles all the time. From counting beats in a measure to measuring the frequency of a pitch to actually playing an instrument, this class will show that MIT's motto, Mens et Manus, applies to music just as as much as it applies to engineering.


Prerequisites
Some knowledge in physics (particularly in optics) and generally being comfortable with math is a plus. Most of all, an interest in the subject matter.

M11682: Ordinals and Hydras
Difficulty: ***

What happens when you start counting and don't stop? Can a hydra be beaten? What do hydras even have to do with math? Come to this class to find out!


Prerequisites
You should be able to write numbers in different bases. Prior experience with proofs and set theory would be helpful.

M11583: Introduction to Probability
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

Randomness is all around us! In this course, we explore a framework to deal with randomness, namely probability. We will talk about a rigorous definition of probability, as well as a couple of cool examples of it in action. We'll discuss random variables and how they can be used to characterize real life situations. This class will be good preparation for "Machine Learning: The Big Picture".


Prerequisites
Algebra and enthusiasm!

M11817: Proofs of the Infinitude of Primes with Intermittent Zumba
Difficulty: **

There's no limit to how many numbers have no integer factors except themselves and one. There's also no limit to the fresh juicy rhythms and sizzling moves we'll be breaking out. This is the two-hour math class for people without a two-hour attention span.

M11933: That's So Random
Difficulty: **

What does it mean to be "random"? Is the world inherently deterministic or random? Many fields of study including statistics, physics, computer science, and philosophy have tried to answer these questions in many different ways. While randomness is frequently viewed as a source of uncertainty, are there ways we can leverage randomness to our advantage? In this course, we will survey various attempts to answer these questions and more, discussing definitions of randomness, algorithmic and cryptographic applications of randomness, and the existence of randomness in the real world.

M11628: Solving the "Good Will Hunting" Problem
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Krentz

Have you ever watched Good Will Hunting? Have you ever wanted to pull a Matt Damon and solve, in two hours, the problem that left MIT mathematicians baffled for months (but not really)? Come out to this crash course on solving one of the most famous math problems in popular culture and learn about graph theory, linear algebra, and more!


Prerequisites
Some basic series and matrix understanding is suggested, but not required.

M11601: Infinite dimensional topology
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Mendel Keller

Topology is the abstract study of shape. We will be covering some point-set topology. In particular, we will start by looking at the real line, generalize to higher dimensional real space, and then consider the infinite case.

In doing so, we introduce topologies, as simple structures that can be given to sets. We study some basic operations that can be done on topologies, and focus on metric topologies, or rather metric spaces. Wherin we use a notion of distance to give a type of shape.

We will then consider how to close a set. Which essentially looks like adding the things on its boundary. And using closures we will consider which topology on infinite dimensional space is most satisfying.


Prerequisites
There are few specific prerequisites for the course, but mathematical maturity is going to be extremely helpful. I will be introducing all the basic notions used in topology, and so exposure to college-level theoretical mathematics is key. Exposure to topology is not necessary, but will definitely be helpful.

M11992: I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Ordinals!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Arkadiy Frasinich

What's the highest you can count? Is there any way to make $$\infty^\infty$$ make any sense at all? Could Hercules ever actually kill the hydra? It turns out that all of these questions can be answered using ordinal numbers. In this class, we'll define these numbers and look at some of the things we can do with them.


Prerequisites
To get the most out of this class, it would be useful to know what a set is, as well as how to take unions of sets. You should also know what induction is and how to use it in proofs.

M11919: Quirky Quarternions: Steering your spacecraft with non-commutative algebra
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Lizhou Sha

$$ab = ba$$: You may have learned about this seemingly universal truth in grade school. However, in this class, we'll throw the commutative law of multiplication out of the window, and go back to the drawing boards to define an algebra of numbers with three imaginary units.

We will begin the class with a short introduction of complex numbers, their geometric representation as points on the complex plane, and the geometric meaning of their multiplication. We will then introduce the fundamental multiplication law for quaternions, $$i^2 = j^2 = k^2 = ijk = -1$$, and show how everything about quaternions falls into place following this formula. You will also learn about why you might want use quaternion multiplication to steer your spacecraft.


Prerequisites
Geometry, Algebra 2 and trigonometry. Preliminary knowledge of complex numbers and vector dot and cross products is a plus.

M11679: Lambda Calculus
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Della Hendrickson

λf.(λx.f(x x))(λx.f(x x))

What does that mean? Come to this class to find out!

Lambda calculus is a minimal, inefficient, and hard-to-read, but still interesting and useful, programming language.

M11806: There are 10 types of people in this world... Full!
Difficulty: ***

Those who are coming to this class and those who aren't.


Prerequisites
Familiarity with binary

M11843: Axioms of Z
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Rikhav Shah

What is a number? How do we know there aren't any integers in between 0 and 1? Does the commutative property have to be true? Come find out if AXIOMS hold the answer to all these questions and more!

M11717: Geometry of Surfaces
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jingyi Zhao

If there are two points $$p$$ and $$q$$, what is the shortest path between them in $$\mathbb{R}^3$$. What if they are on a sphere and you path has to be on the sphere? Any random surface? Hopefully you can walk out of this class knowing the fastest way to go to your next class.


Prerequisites
calculus

M11651: Mathematical Modeling
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jessica Oehrlein

Math modeling is how we use mathematics to study open-ended questions about real-world phenomena. What's the best location for a food truck? How does an invasive species affect an ecosystem? How do we clean up space debris? These are all questions that we can start to answer with math modeling. The goal of this class is to introduce you to the modeling process. By the end, you'll have developed models to answer questions about a couple of different scenarios, and you'll know about some of the tools you can use to tackle more significant modeling problems.


Prerequisites
Comfort with algebra and a willingness to tackle very open-ended problems.

M11768: Introduction to Graph Theory
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brin Harper

We will define graphs, discuss their properties, and learn about various ways to represent them. Then, we'll delve into some of the problems that graph theory allows us to solve! You will learn why graph theory is a key tool in so many different fields, including computer science, physics, and social sciences. You'll also get to make some pretty drawings :)

M11936: Banana Math
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Vicky Lee

Admit it. Math classes usual teach math like it's some sort of mystic process that gets you a magic answer. The philosophy for this class is that if you can't explain math using bananas then you don't understand it. This class will cover a variety of notoriously difficult math topics including vector calculus and show that they're really not that hard as long as you have bananas.


Prerequisites
Basic math skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division A love/fear of math/bananas

M11658: Spies, Goats, Cars, and Bayes
Difficulty: **

This is a module out of a course that was roughly intended to be a teaser for probability and statistics. Other modules will also be offered as part of Splash (M11663: The Correlations Funhouse; M11660: Taste Testing and Statistics), but do not have to be taken concurrently.

We will start this module with a discussion about the meaning of randomness and priors, lead into an activity that dives a bit further into conditional probabilities and Bayes rule, and finally play the Monty Hall game. The focus will be on building intuition, and no previous experience with probability is required.

M11683: Turing Machines!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jordan Hines

A Turing machine is a simple machine that can do everything that your favorite programming language can! Come learn about what Turing machines are, things they can do, and things they can't do!

M11814: Complex Numbers
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Anton Cao

Learn the basics of imaginary numbers, find out what $$i^i$$ is, and prove a cool geometry theorem!


Prerequisites
Calculus AB or BC

M11935: Games of Math
Difficulty: **

You might think that you don't need to know any math in order to beat your friends at games. But, you're wrong! Come learn everything you need to know to win at every game.

M11595: Intro to Computability Theory
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Della Hendrickson

Computers can do a lot of things. If you've ever programmed, you might think you can theoretically write a program that does anything. But it turns out there are things you can't program, no matter how clever you are! You'll see some examples of these functions and learn more about what computers are actually capable of.


Prerequisites
You should have seen programming at least a bit, though we won't use any detailed knowledge of it.

M11786: Conceptual Calculus
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

Learn what it means to take the limit, the derivative, or the integral! Also learn how to apply these concepts in some pretty cool ways. Note: this class will be almost entirely conceptual - very few actual derivatives will be taken, although some of the more interesting ones may be used.


Prerequisites
Understand basic algebraic manipulations. Familiarity with polynomial functions, exponentials and trigonometry will help with understanding examples, but are not required for basic understanding.

M11770: Surface Area and Volume of a sphere Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mark Kong

We will derive the formulas for the surface area and volume of a sphere in n dimensions by following the Gaussian Integral approach on the Wikipedia page. We will also talk about some digressions that come up.


Prerequisites
Single variable calculus is necessary. Also be at least somewhat comfortable with the idea that $$\int_{a}^{b}\int_{c}^{d}{f(x,y)dxdy}$$ is the integral of $$f$$ over the rectangle with boundaries $$x=c,x=d,y=a,y=b$$, and its generalization to more dimensions (we will not be too rigorous with this, so don't worry about technical details of this).

M11550: Integer Partitions
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jordan Hines

How many ways can you break up the number 19 into a sum of positive integers (for example, 18+1 or 10+5+1+1+1+1)? What does the number of ways to break up a number into odd parts have to do with the number of ways to break up a number into distinct parts?

In this class, we'll study these ways of breaking up positive integers, called integer partitions. But rather than just listening to a lecture, you'll be making the discoveries for yourself! You'll work with other students to find patterns, make conjectures, and prove things about integer partitions. I'll introduce a few important concepts and help you along the way.


Prerequisites
Familiarity with proofs is strongly recommended. If you're familiar with generating functions, this class will probably be too easy for you.

M11603: Fun with groups
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mendel Keller

We will be investigating some examples of groups and playing around with them.

Some of the things we will investigate are the symmetries of squares, pyramids and other shapes. We will look at permutation groups, and fiddle a bit with matrix groups and isometries.

If you like algebra, you'll love groups. It's a more visual type of mathematics that focuses on balance and symmetry. We will be looking at groups inside groups and groups that are similar and different to each other.

If you're somehow not yet sold, I'd remind you that the Rubik's cube is a group, and that groups can be applied to a wide variety of problems, for example to examine the deeper properties of polynomials.


Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites, but we will be touching on a variety of topics. Including for example linear algebra. Affinity for shapes, and some exposure to higher mathematics, will be helpful

M11882: Random Probability Paradoxes
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Kristian Georgiev

Can you solve the following question? On average, how many times must a die be thrown so that one gets a 6? Yes? Nice. No? It's fine, you can still come. We will just play around with some fun probability puzzles and paradoxes.

M11845: How to Properly, and Physically, Throw away Infinities
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Patrick Ledwith

While in simple mechanics all answers are finite, even in classical electrodynamics one encounters perilous infinities that seem to plague the mathematical consistency of our physical world. In this class we will explore the different infinites arising in thermodynamics, quantum field theory, and string theory. We'll show you how to get rid of them when they're bugging you, but we'll also develop an intuition for why they occur and give a precise meaning to why some people claim the seemingly false identity $1+2+3+4+... = \frac{-1}{12}$. If we have time we'll also take detours to talk about how quantum mechanics takes away our symmetries and why physicists like to work in dimensions really close to 4, but not 4.

M11922: Winning Dots-And-Boxes, Nim, and Other Games
Difficulty: **

Dots-And-Boxes is a paper-and-pencil game most popular among small children, but the strategy behind it is anything but simple. We’ll play some example games, and then quickly start analyzing a general strategy to win almost every time. In the process, we’ll need to do a whirlwind tour of combinatorial game theory, including games like Nim, and time permitting, Kayles, Dawson’s Chess, and any other games of interest.

M11842: Mods and Primes
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Rikhav Shah

When does 11+4=3? When isn't 5 a prime number? How do prime numbers keep our bank accounts safe? What is Fermat's Little Theorem? Come learn about mods and primes to find out!


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of imaginary numbers

M11891: Integration Bee!

Come participate in an integration bee (YES, A CONTEST), similar to the one held at MIT annually, and then learn some calculus from us afterwards!

Winner of the bee (the GRAND INTEGRATOR) gets a prize TBD.


Prerequisites
Basic integration knowledge required, knowledge of slick integration techniques helpful.

M11988: Demockracy
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Ziv Scully

Having a fair election with two candidates is pretty simple: everyone votes for their favorite candidate and whoever gets the most votes wins. However, as anyone who was around for the presidential elections in 2000 (or 1912... or 1860) will tell you, things get complicated with three or more candidates. It's sometimes the case that you should vote for a candidate you think is likely to win instead of a fringe candidate you agree with more. We can think of different voting systems that try to get around this and other problems, but as we'll explore in class, no voting system avoids all potential flaws. You might ask: is there a "perfect" voting system out there?

Actually, it turns out there is one. It's called a dictatorship. And unless you have an infinite number of voters, no other system is "perfect". Come find out why!


Prerequisites
If you know how to prove there are infinitely many primes, you're definitely ready. Even if you can't, just come ready to think hard about voting :).

M11680: Ramsey Theory
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Della Hendrickson

How many people do you need to put in a room to make sure four of them are either all friends or all not friends?

Why does anyone care about numbers like Graham's Number, which way are too big to have any physical relevance?

Ramsey theory is the study of how particular structures always emerge in sufficiently large clusters of randomness. Learn the answers to these questions and more!


Prerequisites
Be comfortable with exponents. For example, you should know what $$2^{2^{2^2}}$$ is, and how it's different from $$((2^2)^2)^2$$.

M11816: From Rational Approximation of $$\sqrt{2}$$ to Pell's Equation
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Yuan Yao

We know that $$\sqrt{2}=1.41421...$$ is not a rational number, but $$\frac{99}{70}=1.41428...$$ comes pretty close. The class will cover how to get this number, and how to get closer using various methods, and introduce Pell's Equation as a powerful tool for approximating other radicals.

M11772: Transformations and Complex Numbers
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brin Harper

Come learn about transformations, complex numbers, trig identities, and how all of these things are related! We will talk about different ways of representing and visualizing transformations, as well as what complex numbers are and why they are cool! Then, we'll bring together pieces of these two concepts to prove some trig identities.

M11990: The Banach-Tarski Paradox: Speed Run!
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Ziv Scully

Have you ever found yourself with a sphere, a very sharp knife and an Axiom of Choice when all you wanted was a second sphere? Have you ever wondered why everyone's favorite anagram of "Banach-Tarski" is "Banach-Tarski Banach-Tarski"? Come learn about and prove this surprising theorem: a ball can be split into a finite number of pieces that can be rearranged to make two copies of the original ball!

We're covering a few hours' worth of material in 50 minutes, so if that's your idea of fun then this class is for you!


Prerequisites
A certain degree of mathematical maturity. For example, you should understand the difference between countable and uncountable sets. If you've seen a bit of group theory it will come in handy.

M11665: Fractals and Dimension
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Victor Lupi

A line is one-dimensional, and a plane is two-dimensional. Makes sense, right? What if I told you there are objects that are 1.5 dimensional? Would you believe me? How about if I generated them on a computer screen? In this course, we will study the tricky concept of dimension and its various definitions. Along the way, we will encounter fractals, curious objects that are both exceedingly simple and breathtakingly complex. Expect lots of pretty pictures. If time permits, we’ll take a look at the surprisingly simple software needed to generate these beautiful geometric objects.

M11788: Multivariable/Vector Calculus
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

Learn what comes after "regular" calculus. We'll start with vector fields, partial derivatives and multiple integrals and end with an explanation of the gradient, divergence, curl, flux and curvature.


Prerequisites
Know what a vector is. Know single-variable calculus, at the very least conceptually, either through my earlier course or through your own knowledge - i.e., know what a limit is, what a derivative is, and what an integral is.

M11590: Hats On
Difficulty: **

Poof! You suddenly find you and your friends each wearing colored hats, trapped in a dungeon by a wizard. The only way you can get out, he says, is if you can guess the color of your hat correctly. Otherwise, you'll be stuck here, for all of eternity. Can you and your friends do it?

M11989: Calculate Pi with Trains!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Ziv Scully

It turns out that you can calculate pi to very high accuracy by bouncing a small train and a big train into a wall. Come on a journey through Extra-Nice Physics Land (where there's no friction and all collisions are perfectly elastic) to see how it works!


Prerequisites
Given the equation of a line, you should know how to find its slope. We'll also use the Pythagorean theorem.

M11805: Gröbner Bases and Term Rewriting
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: James Koppel

Solving systems of linear equations is easy. How about systems of polynomial equations?

We're not really going to teach you that. Instead, we're going to teach you about Gröbner bases, a crazy way of representing spaces of polynomials, which also gives the ability to solve polynomial equations.

Actually, we're not going to really teach you that either. Instead, we're going to go into a separate branch of mathematics called Term Rewriting and teach you about Knuth-Bendix Completion, a "meta-algorithm" which can take definitions of equality and give you an algorithm for telling whether two things are equal. We'll present Gröbner Bases as a special case of Knuth-Bendix Completion. We might even have time to solve a polynomial equation or two!


Prerequisites
Polynomial division and solving systems of linear equations should be no problem for you. The more of these you understand, the easier time you'll have: algebraic rings, polynomial rings, ideals, ring quotients

M11602: Ordinal Numbers
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mendel Keller

Come learn about the all the infinite infinities that come after the counting numbers!

We will be discussing well-ordered sets, which are a particularly well behaved class of objects.

Starting with the definition of a well ordered set, and continuing on to examples. We will then demonstrate the general process for constructing more and more well ordered sets, and write down a bunch of different sets.

It's going to be a lot of fun, you should totally come!


Prerequisites
There aren't many prerequisites for this course, but familiarity with abstract mathematics will be helpful.

M11660: Taste Testing and Statistics
Difficulty: **

This is a module out of a course that was roughly intended to be a teaser for probability and statistics. Other modules will also be offered as part of Splash (M11663: The Correlations Funhouse; M11658: Spies, Goats, Cars, and Bayes), but do not have to be taken concurrently.

We will start with a a discussion about randomness and data, then lead into a hands-on application of a Fisher's famous taste testing experiment. Can you really tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi? How about filtered and unfiltered water?

M11789: Partial Differential Equations
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

One of the hardest topics in mathematics is the study of partial differential equations. However, they describe a variety of mechanisms which depend on both position and time, such as fluids, quantum particles, and various biological population models. We will start out looking at transport (including nonlinear transport) and the method of characteristics and move on to diffusion and waves on both bounded and unbounded domains.


Prerequisites
A solid understanding of calculus. Recommended that you have multivariable calculus, although partial derivatives will be described at the beginning of the class. Knowledge of (Linear) Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) recommended, as at several points I will say "this ODE has this known solution," but if you're willing to bypass the technical details in those areas and just aim for a conceptual understanding you should still get that out of this class without ODEs.

M11991: Queueing Theory: Who Should Go First? Full!
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Ziv Scully

Isn't it annoying when when you're at the grocery store and you have a reasonable number of things in your cart but the person in front of you in the checkout line is buying half the store? Wouldn't it be nice if they let you cut in front? Using queueing theory, a branch of mathematics that deals exactly with this sort of things, we'll find out that if the grocery store wants what's best for everyone, they should indeed let you cut ahead! We'll then see what happens when the problem gets more complicated, like when you don't know exactly how full someone's cart is, or when people can interrupt each other's checkouts even while they're in progress.


Prerequisites
You should be in Algebra 2 or similar (or have already taken it).

M11828: Fun Job Interview Brainteasers
Difficulty: **
Teachers: John Ma, Hao Shen

You just graduated from high school and you decide that maybe college isn’t the right choice for you (ya know cause student loans and all). So you decide to start applying for jobs because you want money. One of the funnest parts of job hunting are the interview questions. Come check out some interview type questions that will make you say “wat?!” then “wow!” and land a job at your dream self-driving car company.


Prerequisites
Eventual willingness to enter the workforce ;)

M11655: Introductory Cryptography
Difficulty: ***

Can two people agree on a secret value that only the two of them know, even if someone eavesdrops on everything they say (and everything they've ever said)?
Can I tell the whole world how to scramble messages so that, once scrambled, only I can unscramble them?
Turns out, yes!
Come learn about Diffie-Hellman, RSA, and more public key cryptography.


Prerequisites
This class will be mathy; you should be comfortable with the concept of a group and with modular arithmetic

M11649: LTI systems basics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Luis Alvernaz

This is an intro course into the world of linear time-invariant systems. Because this is an 'basics' course, I will try and mainly just give you a taste of the subject and some motivation to continue to study it on your own.

What we will be going over:

Definition and examples of LTI systems
The Fourier and Laplace transform
Stability definition and examples
Convolution as filters and behavior with Laplace
Frequency response functions for filters
Nyquist criterion for stability

Disclaimer: Some parts of this class will be fast, make sure to ask any relevant questions you may have.
(And yes, I know what you're thinking, applied math does sound great)


Prerequisites
Calculus

M11663: The Correlations Funhouse
Difficulty: **

This is a module out of a course that was roughly intended to be a teaser for probability and statistics. Other modules will also be offered as part of Splash (M11660: Taste Testing and Statistics; M11658: Spies, Goats, Cars, and Bayes), but do not have to be taken concurrently.

We start this module by asking students to identifying trends, then take a look at how to think critically about statistics (Is the most dangerous job being a student? Why do your friends have more friends than you?), and finally, end with a look at rotations of data and how decorrelating data can help pick out signals. No previous exposure to statistics is required.

M11681: Ask me anything about math!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Della Hendrickson

Want to learn more about math you've learned in school? Noticed a pattern you're interested in finding more about? One of your Splash teachers mentioned something that sounds cool? Come with your questions, and I'll try to answer them! If nobody has any questions, I'll probably just talk about set theory or something for an hour.

M11656: Advanced Cryptography
Difficulty: ****

Homomorphic Encryption! Elliptic Curves? Attacks on RSA!??? Who knows what this class will involve, hopefully I will write a description.


Prerequisites
Indroductory Cryptography, or previous knowledge of cryptography. You should be familiar with what diffie-helman key exchange and public-key cryptography are.

M11871: Exciting Explorations in Enthralling Explicable Enigmas
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Talia Blum, Jason Kung

There are three doors-- behind one, you will find the most exciting, enigmatic, enthralling class known to MIT. Room 10-250 is revealed to be Hungarian Folk Dancing; do you switch doors?

Follow us on a journey through compelling riddles and math puzzles. Follow your dreams, follow your heart, and follow us to Exciting Explorations in Enthralling Explicable Enigmas!


Prerequisites
Enthusiasm about mathematical riddles!

M11790: Nonlinear Dynamics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

This class will serve as a conceptual introduction to understanding the qualitative behavior of differential equations.


Prerequisites
A solid general knowledge of calculus (at least conceptually) will be necessary. Some basic knowledge of linear algebra would be very useful, but I'll explain what is necessary as it comes up. An understanding of some basic multivariable calculus might come in handy for a few bits.

M11823: Playing with shapes
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Mendel Keller

What is a circle squared? (By squared I mean times itself, not turned into a square.) Well, it depends. We can write a circle squared as $$S^1\times S^1$$, $$S^1*S^1$$ or $$S^1\wedge S^1$$ and these are all different objects.

Come learn how to build the cylinder and torus, and a few different sphere. I will be (mathematically) gluing a few different shapes together, to see what we can create.

Playing with shapes in this way is one of the tools used in topology, and I will be giving you a feel for how topologists think about shapes, especially circles.


Prerequisites
None! This course is completely self-contained, if you've seen numbers before, you're good to go.

M11756: Don't Tell A Rocket Scientist It Isn't Rocket Science: Probability Theory, Bayesian Logic and other Fun Stuff
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Riley Drake

We live in a world of random chance. Thankfully, the mathematical foundations behind probability are beautiful and satisfying. Learn how how Bayes Theorem really works, and how it can change your life. No, actually. Life. Changing. Math.


Prerequisites
Some experience with statistics, should know what random variables, stochastic processes and events are-- or google this beforehand

M11610: Actually Useful Math: Linear Algebra
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

In this class, we study the beautiful subject of linear algebra. The focus of the class will not be formalism but rather on applications. We will discuss the technique of row reduction to solve systems of equations efficiently, as well as delve into the abstract world, where linear algebra can help one interpolate polynomials and find fibonacci numbers. Linear algebra is possibly one of the most useful branches of mathematics, so come on this wild ride of cool math!


Prerequisites
Enthusiasm! Just algebra is required.

M11546: Studying finite groups
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Mendel Keller

I will be presenting the Sylow theorems, three powerful theorems which allow us to determine certain facts about the subgroups of a group, using only the order of the group.

We will be playing around with groups a bit, and then launching directly into theorems. After presenting and proving the theorems, we will take a look at how they hold in a few examples.

If you have already seen groups and liked them, this is probably the course for you.


Prerequisites
Some familiarity with groups is required. I will be using factorials and sums as well, so knowing about those will be necessary.


Pop (and not-so-pop) Culture

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P11858: Intro to Japan(ese)
Difficulty: **

How do I make friends? What do I say? Is the stuff in anime true? Will senpai notice me? Learn how to Japan(ese), college edition.


Prerequisites
None

P11949: Analyzing and Discussing Film
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Robert Bugliarelli

We will analyze and discuss various aspects of movies, including score/soundtrack, script, cinematography, themes, etc. Which aspects (and to some extent, what movies) are focused on will be determined by the class.


Prerequisites
General interest in movies (no specific movies need to be watched beforehand, but a few of the main movies we'll be discussing are Psycho, Pulp Fiction and Mullholland Drive, so feel free to check them out).

P11620: Japanese Folklore: Kitsune, Oni and Yuurei, Oh My!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jennifer Yoo

Ever wondered what a “tanuki” really is, or what the difference is between a youkai and a yuurei? Find out the answers here! Join us as we explore Japanese folklore and superstitions.

This class covers the most prominent creatures, including ghosts, in Japanese folklore, what they are and do, and how to defend against them. A large aspect of this panel involves retelling some well-known Japanese folktales, legends, and ghost stories. Finally, the role Japanese folklore plays in Japan today is addressed, such as the influence it has on contemporary superstitions and its presence in the media such as anime.

Note: There is slight overlap with the Murderous Wives & Dead Wet Girls: Exploring the Horrors of Female Ghosts in Japan course.


Prerequisites
Some basic knowledge of Japanese culture is recommended.

P11737: From Frodo to Feanor: An Introduction to the World of Tolkien
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Trevor Pike

This class offers a brief look into the vast and detailed world of the Lord of the Rings, its supporting literature, and the various media incarnations it has spawned. The lecture will provide a framework for the history of Tolkien's world and discuss its representation in modern film and games. Any students with an interest in Tolkien's legendarium are welcome to attend, from interested newcomers to masters of its lore. While it is impossible to cover every detail, this course will provide a good starting point for exploring Middle Earth.

P11836: "It's super-effective!" The Art of Pokemon Showdown
Difficulty: *

Ever wanted to learn how to battle with Pokemon but never had the time to train your own team? I'll teach you everything you need to know to become a Pokemon master (even if you don't catch 'em all).

P11913: The Art of Shellfishing
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Alexander Denmark

Have you ever seen a clam? How bout a scallop? Razor Clam? Cockle? Whelk? Quahog?
Whether your answer is "Yes, of course, who hasn't," or "What the heck is a clam?" This class is for you! We'll talk about why shellfish are cool, how to catch them, and what foods you can make from them.

P11657: The Psychology of Video Games
Difficulty: *

Have you ever thought about what exactly makes a game leave that lasting impression on you? Maybe you’ve noticed that games can sometimes alter the way you think about the world you live in. In this course, we’ll examine some of the psychological mechanisms underlying your favorite games and the impact games can have on society. A taste of some of the topics:
|Games and prosocial behavior
|Game mechanics and their underlying psychology
|Toxicity versus altruism in game communities
|Gamer identity and sense of community
|Real morality and guilt
|Freedom of choice and exploration
|Personal investment in a digital world
Some potential games for discussion: Undertale, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., League of Legends, Pokemon, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and more!

P11559: History of Westeros
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jake Kinney

From Aegon the Conqueror to Robert's Rebellion, explore the wars, kings, and cities of the Seven Kingdoms.

P11799: From the Depths of Wikipedia
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Wikipedia has nearly 5.5 million articles in the English language. This class will explore some of the most interesting hidden gems, from "Lawsuits against God" to the "World's littlest skyscraper."

P11743: It’s a Conspiracy! From Aliens to the XYZ Affair
Difficulty: *

“Did you hear that?”
“No, what?”
“That sound, like an authority figure trying to tell me what to do.”
“Are you okay?”
“How can I be okay when the world is conspiring against me!?”
Have you ever felt like you were being lied to or cheated by the government? Have you been called crazy by your friends for sharing with them your entirely valid concerns? Do you not believe in any conspiracy theories but find them interesting/thought-provoking/hilarious? Then this is the class for you! We will go over a bunch of mainstream (and far off the mainstream) conspiracy theories, but be mindful; not all the theories we’ll talk about are real, so listen carefully to pick out the internet favorites from the ones we just made up! We will also bring food, because, as we all know, handing out free food is the best way to make people listen to you (just add a colloseum and it will be like Ancient Rome). So come learn what the people screaming on the streets are all about! Or maybe we’ll just drain your souls and use your bodies as puppets to serve our own nefarious purposes -- you really can’t be sure.

P11769: Revelio: What Harry Potter Teaches Us About Writing Shocking Plot Twists
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Nelson Niu

Think of that one book or movie with a killer twist ending, a shocking reveal that blew you away and left you stunned in your seat, marveling at the storyteller's cunning and cheek. (Don't tell me what it is, though: I don't want to be spoiled.) Ever wondered how the writer or director managed to pull it off?

Now think of that other twist ending that was absolutely atrocious, that left you feeling confused, cheated, or rolling your eyes because you'd seen it coming from a mile away. (Again, don't tell me what it is: spoilers for bad stories are spoilers, too.) What makes some twists work and others flop?

This is an intriguing topic that is very difficult to discuss, because, as you've probably already noticed, talking about plot twist is difficult without, well, actually talking about those twists, thereby spoiling them. Fortunately, there's one series chock-full of excellent surprise endings that nearly everyone of our generation has already been exposed to: Harry Potter.

We'll examine and discuss the techniques J. K. Rowling employs to create some of her most shocking revelations, as well as the broader thematic ideas that a clever twist can convey. And perhaps you'll come out of this class ready to craft your very own mind-blowing plot twist.


Prerequisites
You should be familiar with all seven books in the Harry Potter series. (If you've only watched the movies, that's okay, as long as you're cool with reading some excerpts from the books.)

P11738: Intro to Dancehall Music
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Demetria Gordon

Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Since its inception Dancehall music has inspired, empowered and motivated generations through expressive lyrics and upbeat basslines. Dancehall music provides a window into the lives of the native people of the humble island of Jamaica.

Come learn a little about the culture that is Dancehall music and well as a few dance moves that are sure to impress at your next family gathering!


Prerequisites
N/A

P11749: The Greatest Game You Will Ever Play Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Srinivas Kaza

Nethack is the greatest game you will ever play: http://www.thegreatestgameyouwilleverplay.com/ . Come to pay homage to the greatest contribution to the roguelike genre (and gaming in general), and enjoy the world's oldest videogame still in active development. This class will be part tutorial for Nethack, and part playtime.

P11592: 2spooky4me: Horror in the Information Age
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Julian Hernandez

An in-depth analysis of so-called "creepypasta," Internet campfire stories for the modern age. What makes them unsettling? Why is this modern twist on an old genre so intriguing? What artistic merit do these works have?

In this course, we'll be reading short stories such as Candle Cove and Smile.jpg, as well as viewing some innovative horror videos such as Petscop. Through experiencing and then discussing the works, we'll achieve a greater understanding of what makes us afraid, how creepypasta reflects the fears of a modern generation, and the many forms art and entertainment can take in a digital age.

I pinky promise there will be no jumpscares.

Note: the works analyzed in the course range from unsettling to quite disturbing, so don't take this course if you don't feel comfortable with that.


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of literary analysis (symbols, metaphor, theme, irony, etc) will be useful, but is not strictly necessary.

P11773: Funny Ladies
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Katie Fisher

Come chat about our favorite women in comedy (@tinafey @amypoehler @katemckinnon and many more), why they are so funny, and what it takes to be successful in such a male dominated field!

P11621: Monstrous Wives & Dead Wet Girls: Exploring the Horrors of Female Ghosts in Japan
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jennifer Yoo

No Japanese horror film is complete without its haunting woman spectre like Sadako from Ringu (The Ring) or Kayako from Ju-On (The Grudge). To the Japanese, however, these ghosts represent far more than just a means to frighten audiences and there is a reason behind every action and trait. Join us and learn them all! Find out the significance of Sadako being thrown down a well, why the female ghosts’ hair is always left unbound, and why the Japanese cannot let go of their dead.

Please be advised: There will be horror. There will be spoilers (for many of the discussed films).

Note: There is slight overlap with the Japanese Folklore: Kitsune, Oni and Yuurei, Oh My! course.


Prerequisites
Some basic knowledge of J-Horror (Japanese horror) films and/or Japanese traditional theatre (i.e. Noh and Kabuki) is recommended.

P11844: Unraveling RNG in Pokemon
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Adrian Sy, Lucy Yang

What are the chances of finding a shiny and how can you improve it? Did your Pokemon use Protect successfully 5 times in a row? Learn about how the main Pokemon games use a random number generator (RNG) to produce fun, frustration, and improbable results! Then, experience it for yourself by playing in our homegrown meta that is 99% RNG: Triples, Wailords with Metronome only (details at pokemon.mit.edu/wailord.html)

We will be playing on our online battle simulator on computers, so no need to bring your 3DS/laptop:
pokemon.mit.edu/showdown.html

The battles may be streamed on Twitch. Participants will get a free sticker too!

P11669: Levi-O-sa or Levio-SA?
Difficulty: *

Who were the founders of Hogwarts?
What are names of all the Weasley children? How do you find the Chamber of Secrets? Where do the Dursleys live?

Come test your knowledge of the Harry Potter books and movies in a friendly competition!

P11659: Anime Through the Ages
Difficulty: *

This is a two part class: for the first hour we teach about the conception/history of anime, and for the second hour we talk about different genres and production studios in modern-day anime.

P11671: Roller Coasters 101
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Thad Megchelsen

This class will give you exactly fifty minutes worth of roller coaster information in an extremely fast lecture. It'll be super cool. You'll learn all of the ups and downs of roller coasters (see what I did there), and have all of your questions answered by the rather knowledgeable instructor.

Some kid at Splash last year- "This class was fun!"

Some other kid at Splash last year - "This was the best class I took such a good usage of my time resources!"

So come on down, learn some learns, and then go impress your parents with many a fact about roller coasters!

P11686: Are There Gays in Space?: Star Trek and the LGBT+ fandom
Difficulty: *

Star Trek has the dubious honor of sporting one of the oldest modern fandoms, from which a variety of tropes has sprung. But it has long been out of step with a component of the fan base; specifically, the LGBT+ fans. Join us for a brief tour of Star Trek's attempts at addressing LGBT+ issues and the fandom's own attempts at LGBT+ representation.
Aka, come talk about gay stuff and Star Trek.

P11637: Empowering Girls in Comics: Lumberjanes and Gotham Academy
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Emma Trujillo

Come stop by to learn how Lumberjanes and Gotham Academy are empowering girls and giving them a place in the comic book world.


Prerequisites
If you are familiar with Gotham Academy and Lumberjanes that would be great.

P11870: Sociology of the Fashion Blogger
Difficulty: *

Fashion and lifestyle bloggers are everywhere, with thousands of followers flocking to their posts and pictures. In this class, we'll look at fashion blogs through a critical lens, thinking about how these blogs influence and are influenced by society, what privilege and power mean, and what this means for you.

P11741: Sci-Fi: History, Philosophy, and Influence
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Charlie DeLorey

Do you like science fiction movies, books, and more? Do you enjoy philosophy, media, and the connections between all of these topics? What themes and philosophies can we pull out of these films, and what do they represent? In this class we will dissect key science fiction works such as The Matrix, Dune, and Ex Machina, and discuss their philosophical and societal implications and effects. Science fiction was born more than 200 years ago (to be debated!) and is still prominent in society today, with blockbuster sci-fi movies coming out each year. Be ready to have your minds thoroughly wracked as we tackle tough questions like “what is reality?”, “what is life?”, and of course, “what does it all mean?”, all through movies you know and love.


Prerequisites
Please watch The Matrix and Ex Machina before coming to class, as we will be discussing them both in detail SPOILER ALERT!

P11672: Roller Coasters 101: EXTENDED LECTURE
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Thad Megchelsen

This is the extended version of my other class, so instead of fifty minutes of me rambling, you get one hundred and ten minutes worth of roller coaster information in an extremely fast lecture. It'll be super cool. You'll learn all of the ups and downs of roller coasters (see what I did there), and have all of your questions answered by the rather knowledgeable instructor.

Some kid at Splash last year- "This class was fun!"

Some other kid at Splash last year - "This was the best class I took such a good usage of my time resources!"

So come on down, learn some learns, and then go impress your parents with many a fact about roller coasters!


[Deprecated] Science

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S11670: CRISPR: A Text Editor for Genes
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Adam Atanas, Lucy Yang

DNA contains a genetic code that is responsible for everything from signaling pathways in our cells to our anatomy. CRISPR is a precision editor for this code, allowing us to change our DNA to whatever we want. This course will describe the science of how CRISPR works, explain exciting new ideas of how to use it, and discuss some of the ethical dilemmas that would result from such a powerful technology.


Prerequisites
I will attempt to cover relevant background as part of the course; however, some knowledge of cellular biology may be helpful.

S11791: Renormalization and Statistical Physics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

"Renormalization" is a fancy word that shows up in a lot of high-level physics discussion without nearly as much effort to translate it down to a reasonable level. What is renormalization, really? I'll mainly focus on discussing it in a few statistical mechanics models which make for simpler conceptual understanding, but if I have extra time I'll paint a picture of how it's used in particle physics as well.


Prerequisites
Be very comfortable with algebra. Some familiarity with limits (from calculus) is required. More calculus is preferred. I will explain the necessary physics prerequisites, but it will be to your advantage to have at least a basic physics knowledge as well.

S11997: Theory of Special Relativity
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Saranesh Prembabu

Time machines aren't just science fiction! With simple and intuitive thought experiments and a bit of math, you too can learn the physics that made Einstein famous!

We will start with the basics of length contraction and time dilation and move on to look at the symmetries of four vectors and the Lorentz group in the Minkowski spacetime manifold, changing the way you think of position and time forever.


Prerequisites
Strong understanding of algebra, geometry, and basic Newtonian mechanics; exposure to linear algebra may be helpful

S11586: Physics of Martial Arts
Difficulty: *

This course aims to understand the principles of martial arts through the lens of physics and mathematics. The first half of the course will review basic concepts of physics and translate them into principles of martial arts. The second portion will be a hands-on martial arts class, where student can apply the principles they've learned in real self-defense techniques!

S11693: Death and Sex: What Made Living Things the Way They Are
Difficulty: **

Isn't nature beautiful? Evolution, the brilliant guiding force of biology, has favored random mutations that have created such wonderful living things, from dolphins to daisies, and from bunnies to the bony-eared assfish (yup, you read that correctly).

This course will be a somewhat humorous approach to describing how living things got to be the way they are, guided by the always pleasant forces of death and sex. Not only good for making a crappy movie look more mature than it really is, death and sex are the reasons why we are bipeds with opposable thumbs and (usually) stunning intellects, and not muck-dwelling bacteria that make puddles smell like the dumpster behind your school cafeteria. It should also help explain why evolution has favored some organisms and traits that really don't make sense at first glance-- such as preying mantises sometimes eating their own mates, koala bears having teeny little brains, and male cardinals being bright red despite the fact that it makes them more likely to be seen by predators.


Prerequisites
A small amount of knowledge about evolution might be nice, but isn't strictly necessary.

S11536: How to Distinguish Medical Knowledge from Hoaxes?
Difficulty: **

There are tons of newspaper articles talking about the "recent advances in health sciences." Some suggest "beer helps to prevent cancer," others claim "beer increased risks of getting cancer." Which one should we believe?
How do doctors decide what to do when coming across contrary scientific evidence? And what doctors might not know about the surgery they perform or the drugs they prescribe?
We will do some hands-on experiments on drawing conclusions in the world of uncertainty, and take a quick survey of the current methodologies in medical sciences.


Prerequisites
Have flipped coins, or played any other games involving probability or uncertainty.

S11652: Evolutionary Baggage
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Nora Enright

In our constantly changing world, what helps one generation can harm the next. This class looks at the tradeoffs between genetic disease and environmental challenges.


Prerequisites
Some kind of biology

S11961: Synthetic Biology with Intermittent Soccer Bowling Breaks
Difficulty: *

Ever wanted to learn how to control life? How to merge computer science, biology, and engineering? What about how to score a strike in soccer bowling? Do it all, right here, right now.


Prerequisites
None

S11879: Demystifying Molecular Gastronomy Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Charles Settens

Explore concepts of physical chemistry and materials science in relation to the appearance and texture of food. Delicious demonstrations included.

S11873: How We Live: Biology in All Its Glory
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Thomas Xiong

Ever thought biology was just memorization? Ever bemoaned that biology is truly just applied chemistry? Come to this class to learn that biology is everything you've always wanted: problem solving, discovery, interconnectedness, beauty. Watch how a cell resorts to chaos as its subjected to unyielding stress; see how a plant seed manages to never sprout in the winter. Examine how competition arises as surreptitious undercurrents rather than outright battle and model phenomena across biology using elegant mathematical principles. Ultimately, discover perhaps not why we live, but rather how we live--where we have come from, and where we might be going.


Prerequisites
Basic chemistry and biology knowledge Calculus helpful, but not necessary

S11643: Quantum Computing
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jessica Pointing

What is quantum computing? Why are Google, Microsoft, MIT, Harvard and other companies and institutions working on this? How does quantum computing combine quantum mechanics with computation? Come learn the basics of quantum mechanics and computation in order to learn about quantum computing. This could potentially be the next revolution of computers. Be a part of it!

S11889: Significance testing and its problems
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Cosmo Grant

Significance tests are everywhere: they are used across the sciences to evaluate probabilistic hypotheses. But they are controversial: some people even claim that the tests are bunk and should be given up.

This course will describe how significance tests work: we will focus on Fisher tests, but may touch on Neyman-Pearson tests if there's time. And we will discuss some objections to significance testing: e.g. sensitivity to the stopping rule, sensitivity to the test statistic, and how a well-supported hypothesis may be rejected.


Prerequisites
basic probability theory

S11631: General Chemistry Cram
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Yue Zhang

Learn all of general chemistry in 3 hours. Content is based around the AP Chemistry exam and MIT's introductory chemistry course.


Prerequisites
Algebra knowledge would be helpful

S11923: Early Life on Earth
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jonathan Hurowitz

How did life originally develop on Earth? When did animals originate? How have mass-extinctions shaped life on Earth? Come find out and play with tons of cool fossils, such as extinct sea scorpions, clams, and snails!


Prerequisites
None!

S11597: How does the immune system learn?
Difficulty: **

On its surface, a deadly bacterium looks not-so-different from the cells of your body: a jiggling wall of proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. How do the cells of the immune system (lacking eyes, ears, and minds of their own) identify threats and respond to them to keep us safe? How do they improve their response the next time that deadly bacterium shows up?


Prerequisites
Introduction to DNA and proteins.

S11757: Science Before the Scientific Revolution
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Riley Drake

The advent of modern science in the western world was never a necessary outcome of western intellectual activity. Yet histories of science frequently spin a tale of intellectual progress leading inexorably to scientific thinking (and hint at brighter futures to come). This course examines the technologies and philosophical tools that would give rise to science, but with an eye to their historical contexts and their many non-scientific aspects. We especially will focus on how pre-modern medicine, astronomy, and alchemy relate to their modern counterparts.

S11785: Quantum Mechanics Done Right
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

I'm going to teach quantum mechanics in a way that is both completely accurate and completely comprehensible - sweeping a few details of calculations under the rug, of course. The first half of the class will teach what the world "really is" in quantum mechanics, then how that leads naturally to superposition and the uncertainty principle. The second half will discuss composite quantum systems: we'll start with entanglement, then move on to how that leads to measurement and the different interpretations of quantum mechanics. Given extra time, I have more material I can cover as well.


Prerequisites
If you try to understand what a "vector" is beforehand, that will be helpful to your intuition, but I'll go over everything necessary.

S11619: Street-Fighting Climate Science
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Eric Mannes

Get an order-of-magnitude understanding of how climate works. Then apply it. Want to know:

--Why Siberia is cold?
--Mars' temperature from first principles?
--How to talk about global warming?

You'll definitely learn at least some of these things!

S11752: Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology: An Introduction to Astronomy
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Bowen Yu

This class will provide an overview of interesting topics in astronomy. We will be focusing more on concepts rather than rigorous mathematical descriptions of astronomical phenomenon. Topics to be discussed include stellar evolution, galaxies types, cosmological principles, basic special and general relativity, black holes, current events, and anything that you find interesting!

S11549: What is Temperature?
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jordan Hines

Temperature seems like a pretty natural everyday quantity - you choose the temperature to heat baked goods to, look at the weather predictions for the temperature, and more. But what is that number? In this class, we'll use physics to give a mathematical, precise definition of temperature. Along the way, we'll talk about entropy and its role in statistical mechanics.


Prerequisites
Calculus (derivatives)

S11574: The Science of 3D - Why Does It Pop Out Like That?
Difficulty: *
Teachers: John Gregg

In this hands-on course, we will explore the phenomenon of 3D, the "pop-out" effect of 3D movies, ViewMasters, and the like. We will see examples of many different ways this effect has been achieved since its discovery, and talk about (and see, and touch) related technologies.

S11555: Dimensional Analysis aka How to Ace Your Science Classes
Difficulty: **

One of us is a physicist. One of us is a mechanical engineer. We both agree that dimensional analysis (aka cancelling out units) is the single most useful technique for solving science problems. Come learn cool applications of the method for solving everything from high school chemistry homework to MIT junior mechanical engineering thermal-fluids engineering problems!


Prerequisites
It would be very helpful if you've seen dimensional analysis (aka Factor-Label Method or the Unit Factor Method), which sounds much more complicated than it really is. If you've taken chemistry, or any other science class where you cancel out units, you've probably used this.

S11906: Weather is Awesome! Intro to Atmospheric Science
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jordan Benjamin

Come explore the beauty of Earth's atmosphere and weather and learn how weather phenomena are observed and predicted.

S11974: Brief History of Neuroscience
Difficulty: **

Although brains are squishy, neuroscience remains hard. In this class, we'll go over selected elements of the history of neuroscience and figure out where our current understanding of the brain comes from, and what big questions remain unanswered.


Prerequisites
Introductory high school biology might be a bit helpful.

S11587: A Brief History of the Universe
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Christian Cardozo

If the universe is expanding infinitely, what is it expanding into? How did we get to here? If questions like this have ever zipped through your mind, this is the class for you! No math or science background required!

S11582: Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

This course will aim to provide the fundamentals for an understanding of organic chemistry. We will especially explore Molecular Orbital Theory and use it to explore many phenomena in organic chemistry. We will also discuss energy diagrams, and how they're essential to reactivity. Interspersed through all of this will be examples of reactions and cool structural conclusions. Through this course, hopefully organic chemistry will seem more reasoned and less mystical!


Prerequisites
Prior chemistry knowledge is a must, preferably at the AP level. No organic chemistry background is required.

S11924: Drugs and the Brain (DATB)
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Zak Fallows

This class is a multidisciplinary introduction to pharmacology, neurotransmitters, drug mechanisms, and brain diseases from addiction to schizophrenia.

http://datb.mit.edu/

From Abilify to Zyrtec, the world is full of fascinating drugs. If you are poisoned by sarin nerve gas, you may be able to save your life by huffing some BZ nerve gas. This class will explain that chemical curiosity, plus a lot more interesting tidbits of pharmacology. The structure of the class interleaves basic concepts with specific examples and entertaining tangents, so it is not loaded with boring abstract theory. The class is highly multidisciplinary, including topics such as patent law, medical ethics, history, and the fluid dynamics of spinal anesthesia.

S11794: Intro to Lagrangian mechanics
Difficulty: ***

Doing physics problems with $$\mathbf{F}=m\mathbf{a}$$ and free-body diagrams can get gnarly very quickly, and some problems are just too gross to do that way. Example: can you tell me how a double pendulum moves?

There is a far cleaner method to do classical mechanics, and it comes from the fact that objects move along trajectories that minimize* a quantity called the action which can be computed from the trajectory. This fact actually determines the trajectory and lets you find it with much less work than $$\mathbf{F}=m\mathbf{a}$$.

If you like notation, then take this class because you'll learn what
$$\frac{\partial L}{\partial q_i} - \frac{d}{dt}\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q_i}} = 0$$
means by the end.

*actually extremize, but close enough


Prerequisites
You definitely need calculus, and it helps if you can use partial derivatives. You should also know some Newtonian mechanics from a high school physics class or equivalent.

S11859: The Chemistry of Baking Full!
Difficulty: *

Ever wondered how bread rises? Why cookies crumble but cake falls apart? Come talk about food with us, and hopefully learn a little bit about the science behind the baked goods we all know and love!


Prerequisites
A love for food

S11732: Babies and Brains
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Junyi Chu, Halie Olson

What do babies know about the world?

How do we ask what babies know?

What experiences in the first years of life shape our brains' development?

In this class, we’ll share some of the most exciting findings in psychology and neuroscience that come from studying babies and toddlers, and explore techniques that enable us to ask big questions about the little ones. Be ready to think, ask questions, participate in demos, and see some adorable videos!

S11865: The Psychology of Adventure
Difficulty: **

Ever wondered why some people live adventurous lives while others don't change a thing? In this class, you'll get a taste of adventure as we dive into hands-on experiences that will challenge you to think in new ways. You'll discover some of the science behind your comfort zone and mental biases, and will learn some tips and tricks to help you step out and infuse adventure into your day-to-day life!


Prerequisites
All participants must have an open mind and be ready for anything!

S11885: Animal Cognition: Does your dog hate you?
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Elise Michaels

Do animals think? What do they think about? How can we figure out what they're thinking?
If you spend a lot of time wondering how psychology can be applied to our non-human fellows, this course might be for you.


Prerequisites
For those with no experience in the subject, my other class Animal Studies: a lightning introduction may be helpful.

S11745: Babies Are Smarter Than You - When it Comes to Learning Words
Difficulty: **

Googoo. Gaagaa. Googoo gaagaa? Googoo gaagaa! Gaaaaaaa!!!
It takes about 5 months for babies to go from incoherent babbling to producing their first words. You still don’t know how to ask to go to the bathroom in Spanish even though you’ve been learning it for the past three years. Give babies their well-deserved credit by learning about words, which are arbitrary combinations of form (sound in spoken language) and meaning. Maybe we’ll show you cute pictures. Actually, we will absolutely show you cute pictures. Let’s talk about words!

S11599: Quantum Field Theory Story Time
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Brian Skinner

Quantum mechanics is hard, and you are probably tired. So come relax and listen to an introduction to quantum field theory told in the style of a bedtime story. QFT is probably the deepest and most precise description that we have of nature, and usually it comes with lots of complicated-looking equations and diagrams. But here I'll give you a much more gentle introduction to QFT, using only pictures and no math. Learn a little bit about vacuum fluctuations, virtual particles, and the difference between Fermions and Bosons. Walk out with a new perspective on what "empty space" really is.

S11581: Conceptual Quantum Mechanics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

Want to sound cool to your friends? Just tell them you took a quantum mechanics course :)

This course seeks to explain quantum mechanics in a completely conceptual way, avoiding any calculus. You will learn the key concepts of quantum mechanics, and emphasis will be placed on its impact on our physical intuition and the quantum mechanical world! We will also discuss some of the many interpretations, which have led to philosophical debate, of the wacky results from quantum mechanics.


Prerequisites
Classical physics is highly recommended, but not required!

S11881: How Human Memory Works
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Abby Noyce

Admittedly, the truly honest answer is "Scientists don't really know." But there are a lot of snippets we do know! From the role of hippocampus structures in pattern separation and pattern completion, to the fMRI evidence for reactivation, to tips about how to study most effectively, this class will explore how the nervous system stores and accesses information.

Come prepared to talk about cells, but also to consider the computational basis of human cognition.


Prerequisites
You should have background equivalent to a year of HS biology. Programming experience is recommended but not required.

S11594: Autism Spectrum Disorders 101
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Stella Kyprianou

Understand the characteristics of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), identify current research on the causes of ASD, discuss treatment and discuss inclusion and identify peer support systems in school and community settings.

S11855: DIY Drugs
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Steven Liu, David Wang

Come to learn how to conduct cool chemistry experiments in your garage! We'll teach you how to gather various chemicals and glassware, as well as show you experiments we've done in our own homes! Activities you'll be doing will include making the rheumatoid arthritis drug, copper aspirinate, from scratch!

S11888: Cat Genetics: Internet Catz
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Meredith Loy

Do you like cats? Do you like cat videos?

Come watch cat videos and talk about cool genetic mutations in cats! We'll talk about interesting traits in internet cats!


Prerequisites
An appreciation of cats and some basic knowledge about genetic inheritance

S11727: Crystal Field Theory: How atomic dumbells make metals colorful
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Tal Scully

Ever wondered why transition metals have such vibrant and different colors? A cobalt ion surrounded by 6 groups of ammonia (NH$$_3$$) is yellow, but replacing one ammonia with chloride (Cl$$^-$$) makes it magenta. Come learn about Crystal Field Theory, which dives into the physics of electron orbitals to explain why transition metals are so pretty!


Prerequisites
You should be familiar with basic atomic orbital theory (s, p, d orbitals, etc.).

S11874: Introduction to Soil Ecology
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jarek Kwiecinski

Soil microbes play a vital role in the carbon cycle and will react to climate change in uncertain ways. With access to 2.3 trillion tons of organic matter, these bacteria and fungi may significantly alter the Earth's carbon balance. Threats from microbial predators and the quality of available nutrients control carbon emissions by the bacterial and fungal population. These soil quality parameters are difficult to measure and models that describe microbial behavior reflect limitations of available data. This class presents the basics of soil ecology and outlines gaps in our understanding of soil carbon cycling. Recent data sets and models will be used in this analysis to describe the most pressing uncertainties that limit our knowledge of underground ecosystems.


Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of high school chemistry and biology helpful but not required.

S11937: Determining the Orbital Elements of an Asteroid from Scratch
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Gabriel Mintzer

Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered to yourself, "What are the orbital elements of that asteroid, and will it one day end up crashing into Earth and causing the extinction of the human race?" If so, then this is the class for you! We will begin with only a computer and amateur telescope images, but by the end of the class, we will know the orbital elements of an asteroid (submittable to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) and have data regarding its trajectory for tens of millions of years.


Prerequisites
Any background in physics, mathematics, computer science, and astronomy is helpful but not required. Everyone interested should feel free to come!

S11795: Hardware store chemistry
Difficulty: *

Ever buy a chemistry set and been disappointed by the conspicuous absence of anything interesting? Don't be sad, a lot of chemistry is possible with stuff you can get without being a large company or school. A ton of fascinating knowledge has become obscure because it's not cutting-edge. We'll tour the periodic table and tell stories about modern scientists who were amateur chemists.

Disclaimer: Don't do these things at home; they're unsafe. Ask your chemistry teacher to do it with you in school.

S11552: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Marcus Boorstin

Ever heard quantum mechanics talked about in vague or mystical terms but never understood it rigorously? We’ll give a (mathematical) introduction to quantum mechanics, use it to explore some basic problems, and then depending on what the class is interested in discuss other topics in QM (the uncertainty principle, states of the hydrogen atom, etc).


Prerequisites
Some calculus (you should know what derivatives and integrals are); more math and/or physics may help you appreciate what’s going on but probably isn’t necessary.

S11920: Exoplanet Excavation
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Lizhou Sha

How can we discover exoplanets when they're so insanely hard to observe? We'll look at the current methods of discovering planets beyond our solar system and see exactly why these objects are hard to confirm. The class will also discuss what we can deduce about these planets, why this science matters, and what the future looks like for this field.

S11787: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Multiverse
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Aaron Dunbrack

In this class, we will explore three questions. One: What is a multiverse? Two: Why might we want to (or not want to) discuss a multiverse? Three: What are the kinds of multiverses that people talk about? Along the way, we will discuss topics in both modern physics and philosophy.

S11585: Introduction to Quantum Computation
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Kenneth Wang

Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionize computing forever. Quantum algorithms already exist that are faster than classical algorithms, and sometimes exponentially faster. This poses risk in the field of cryptography which relies on the difficulty of factoring a large number. A quantum algorithm already exists to solve this problem fairly efficiently!

How do quantum computers work? How do they leverage the power of quantum mechanics to produce these faster algorithms? The answer to these questions is still an area of active research, but we will attempt to scratch the surface. We will talk about the fundamentals of quantum computing and a couple of simple algorithms. We will also talk about quantum cryptography. If time permits, we will also discuss some attempted physical implementations of a quantum computer.

We will be able to get to these core concepts without too much physics, but if you'd like to have a better understanding of the physics, consider taking "Conceptual Quantum Mechanics" or any other quantum mechanics course.


Prerequisites
Algebra and enthusiasm! Linear algebra will be helpful, but not required. Quantum mechanics will also be helpful, but not required.

S11719: Craniofacial Anatomy
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Tom Cervantes

In this class we will learn about human craniofacial anatomy. We will cover bony features and foramina, vascular supply, and neuromuscular features. We will use lifesize skull models to assist in understanding of 3D anatomy, and discuss related surgical procedures.


Prerequisites
Students should be comfortable discussing and viewing human anatomical images, including pictures and/or video of human cadaver models and surgical procedures.

S11925: The Early Solar System
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jonathan Hurowitz

The solar system is a cool place! Come learn about our solar system's life cycle, from supernova to planets. Topics covered include solar system formation & composition, the future of our system, and a brief look into other solar systems and exoplanets. I'll bring cool meteorites for you to play with too!


Prerequisites
Physics mechanics (algebra-based). Some chemistry would be helpful but not required.

S11887: Cat Genetics: Mysteries of Fluff and Fur
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Meredith Loy

Do you like cats? Do you have a cat?

Come look at cat pictures and talk about what makes cat fur so cool!


Prerequisites
An appreciation of cats and some basic knowledge about genetic inheritance

S11593: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Jordan Hines

So you went into your chemistry or physics class and the teacher said something about not being able to know both the position and momentum of a particle at the same time due to something called the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Honestly, the whole thing was just vague and confusing, and you just want to understand what this mysterious principle really is.

In this class, we'll actually explain where the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle comes from and what it is saying, making it less mysterious. If we have time, we'll also explore a more general uncertainty principle.


Prerequisites
Integral calculus, matrix multiplication

S11630: Why do we still have cancer?: an intro to genetics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jacqueline Ludwig

The human genome has been fully sequenced, we’ve all but eradicated polio, a healthy human baby has been born from three parents, and 3D printed organs have already been implanted into patients. Why, then, does cancer still plague so many people, despite the thousands of researchers working to cure it?
This crash course in human genetics will explore how cancer develops, why curing it is such a difficult problem, and how new medical technologies are approaching it.

Note: While high school biology is a prerequisite, you do not have to be "good" at biology or remember the details to take this class!


Prerequisites
High school biology

S11632: Introduction to Neuroscience

Ever wonder what's going on in your brain? Why do we dream? Where do emotions come from? Is mind control really possible?

In this course, we will go over some cool topics in neuroscience in an easy-to-digest way. We'll talk about neurons, common myths, and much, much more! We will also have demonstrations about tools that scientists can use to control minds, and a real brain to dissect!

S11750: Scale of the Solar System: How big is Uranus really?
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Bowen Yu

Can the Earth really fit into the Sun more than a million times? How far did New Horizons fly to reach Pluto? Why isn't Pluto a planet?
These are some questions that you will hopefully not only know the answers to by the end of class, but truly comprehend the scales that we have no reference to here on Earth. In one hour, each one of you will create a scale model of the solar system that will give you a new perspective on how you view the solar system. If time allows, we will also discuss how our solar system compares to others nearby and in the grand scheme that is the entire universe.


Prerequisites
A readiness to get your mind blown

S11696: Thinking like an Experimental Physicist
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Keith Phuthi

Have you ever wondered what goes into the process of experiments like LIGO and detecting neutrinos? This class will use a basic example to show what scientists do to go from theory to citable results to help you in your own projects.


Prerequisites
Basic physics but not a strict requirement

S11984: Proteins: Albumin to Zymogens Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: George Fei

Proteins are very important biological macromolecules. Virtually all biochemistry is carried out with proteins, and most drugs target proteins in the body. In this course, we will get a taste of how proteins work: the importance of the chemistry of amino acids, structure-function relationships, protein-protein interactions, etc.


Prerequisites
Introductory biology at the high school level

S11890: The Atmosphere, Clouds, and Climate of Venus
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Megan Goodell

Ever wondered what Venus' atmosphere is made of, and how we figured that out in the first place? Ever wondered why Venus' climate is so different from Earth's, despite the planets' similar sizes and distances from the sun? Find out all this and more about the hottest planet in our solar system.

S11951: Your classical intuition is wrong!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jason Gross

Do you think you have a good grasp of physics? A good intuition for the physical world? Come learn about the predictions of quantum mechanics (and the experiments that validate these predictions) which violate your fundamental beliefs about the universe!

S12023: A Nuclear Education

Did you know bananas are radioactive? Interested in this whole "E=mc^2" thing? Concerned about solving our global energy and climate crisis? Join our class and get a "nuclear" education!! We'll teach you a lot of what you don't know about nuclear science and energy, including, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, fission and fusion, other modules. In addition, we'll have geiger counters for you to test out, a fission reactor core demonstration, and (maybe?) a "Who's Got the Power?" board game.


Prerequisites
High school level / basic physics or chemistry

S11688: Bioethics and 2017
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Peter LoVerso

As the biotech and bioinformatics industry continues to grow rapidly in the US, genomic sequencing of patients is becoming more common. This brings with it a whole host of ethical issues of what is appropriate to do with that data.

Topics discussed will include privacy, eugenics, genetic testing services such as 23andme, commercial rights, DNA databases, genetic screening, and future possibilities such as engineering humans.

This is not a lecture-based course. Come with an open mind, but be prepared to defend your opinions!

S11796: Molecular orbital theory
Difficulty: ***

Solving the Dirac equation is hard. Solving the multi-electron Schrödinger equation is hard. Hell, solving the single-electron Schrödinger equation is too hard to do in your head. So we cheat and lie and fabricate stuff to make it easier to understand how molecules work.

1. Electrons don't talk to each other. 2. Hilbert space is a lot tinier because wavefunctions are LCAOs. 3. Who the hell cares about spin-orbit or nuclear motion? This is our chemists' dogma. Come learn how to fight with it!


Prerequisites
Calculus and high school chemistry. High school physics recommended but optional.

S11694: What's the Matter?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Christopher Miller

From Greek philosophy to models of the atom to relativistic quantum field theories, explore in depth how experiments have shaped the modern understanding of the constituents of matter.


Prerequisites
An exceptional understanding of theoretical mathematics may improve understanding of far latter parts but is not expected.

S11650: Magnets, how do they work?
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Norman Cao

What even are magnets? Come learn about one of the fundamental forces of the universe! In doing so we'll cover both the theory behind magnets, including some special relativity, quantum mechanics, and statistical mechanics; as well as some applications in astronomy and fusion!

S11728: Math in Biology
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Tal Scully

Computational biology is an exciting field where researchers find ways of understanding biological systems through mathematics. Come learn about how we can use high-dimensional math to analyze single-cell RNA sequencing data in an effort to answer some of the most fundamental questions in biology.


Prerequisites
You should be familiar with the central dogma of biology (DNA to RNA to proteins). You should also know how to calculate the distance between two points in 2-dimensional space.

S11839: Chemistry of Art Conservation
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Katherine Phillips

Science and art are often seen as disparate topics, but they frequently intertwine in surprising and interesting ways. In this lecture, we will see how science can help us analyze and understand works of art. In particular, we will discuss how analytical chemistry can answer questions about visual art – questions such as: How was this made? Who made it? How old is it? Is it made with chicken eggs or duck eggs? The lecture will lead students on a visual adventure that will be fascinating for art-lovers and science-lovers alike.

S11734: Intro to Lagrangian Mechanics
Difficulty: ***

Learn the elegance of the Principle of Least Action and use it to easily solve physical problems like multi-body orbits and complex mechanical systems. Plus, be able to impress your friends with terms like “calculus of variations.”


Prerequisites
Be comfortable with Newtonian mechanics (pulleys, masses, springs, and gravity) and be able to understand and calculate basic derivatives and integrals.

S11983: How Do We Describe Fluid Flows?
Difficulty: **

Fluids are a miraculous phase of matter - water and blood are two of them without which we cannot imagine life on Earth. Common to all fluids is the propensity to flow. This course will teach you about how one can mathematically describe simple flows in nature. For example, have you ever wondered if one can estimate how fast water will flow down a cliff? Or that, how long water flowing through a pipe will take to fill a tank? What about something like toothpaste, which doesn't seem to want to flow at once?


Prerequisites
Basic integration and differentiation (calculus), concepts of force and pressure

S11687: The Magical Beauty of Parasitic Wasps
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Peter LoVerso

Parasites have gotten a bad rap over the past couple centuries. They’ve been looked down upon as inferior, broken organisms that deserve to be objects of disgust, rather than study. But because of attitudes such as this, some of the most wondrous and complex biological pathways we know of have been left by the wayside. Here, we will look at the intricacies of mind control, neurosurgery, and symbiotic viruses through the study of Ampulex compressa and Cotesia congragata.

Warning: this class will be looking at pictures and videos of parasitization. This includes videos and pictures of wasp larvae eating caterpillars, spiders, and other organisms alive. If pictures like this make you feel squeamish: http://i.imgur.com/RWBI8.jpg (Warning, it’s a picture of some larva emerging from a caterpillar),
then this may not be the class for you.

S11588: Seeing the Invisible
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Christian Cardozo

How can we use photography to see the quickest, strangest things? Look no further than this class to discover. No math or science background required!

S11698: The Flat Earth and Debunking Conspiracy Theories Full!
Difficulty: **

In this session, we will discuss the central tenants of the 'Flat Earth Theory' and the elements thereof which, to a naive observer, appear to be consistent with observations. We will then discuss how additional observations can be used to debunk this theory, and how to avoid falling prey to simple, attractive, and yet wrong theories like the 'Flat Earth'. The goal of the session is to build scientific reasoning in students, and give them the tools to critically consider scientific theories.

The session will be not be a lecture but will be highly interactive, focusing on allowing students to think about and counter several 'Flat Earth' talking points on their own.


Prerequisites
Trigonometry

S12005: Animal Developmental Physiology
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Abhijit Mudigonda

Come learn about the amazing ways in which different animals grow and develop! Some of the questions we'll answer are:

> Why babies have holes in their hearts
> Why tadpoles can't see blue but frogs can
> Why identical twins aren't extremely common
> How a symmetric blob of cells grows into something with a head and a tail

S11547: What even is life?
Difficulty: **

What is life? No really, it isn't as simple an answer as you might think. We'll talk about what the definition of life is and then try to break it by talking about all of the examples that fall in between. We'll also touch on what sorts of signs of life exobiologists look for when searching for life on other planets!


Prerequisites
None!

S11807: How to Build an Atomic Bomb
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Cannon Vogel

Ever wondered what it takes to harness the atom and produce potentially world ending devices? Maybe you're just curious about enriched uranium smuggling through the Caucasus Mountains or nuclear command and control for once you succeed? Whatever your motivations, come learn some basics of the physics, chemistry, policy, history, strategy, and engineering of nuclear weapons.

S11706: How to Train your Dog and/or Take Over the World
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Rebecca Reiss

Learn the basics of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and use the principles of practical psychology to control your world (or just train your dog).

S11976: Black Holes Don't Suck
Difficulty: **

Do you like gravity? What about singularities?
Come learn about these awesome astrophysical oddities! We plan to cover some history, how they form, recent discoveries, still open problems, and any questions you may bring!


Prerequisites
Informal experience with the gravitational force would be helpful, but not necessary.


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W11677: Puzzles!!!!

You are given http://web.mit.edu/puzzle/www/2015/puzzle/rectangles/. You need to get an answer that is a word or phrase. What do you do? (Try it, and check the solution linked on the page.)

Puzzles can be almost anything -
you're given strange data and very few instructions, and you find a way to extract an answer from it. Come try puzzles from MIT Mystery Hunt, the largest puzzle hunt in existence! Whether you're an expert puzzler or have never done a puzzle hunt, we'll have puzzles for you (and help if you get stuck)!

W11968: Ukulele
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Erica Liu

Never played a ukulele? Come by and learn a few chords! Already a ukulele master? Come and dazzle us with your amazing talent! Whatever your skill level, come brighten up your day and kill some time between classes with a ukulele.

W12020: Spontaneous Marine Biology
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Clio Macrakis

Learn about marine biology through various objects including (but not limited to): sediments, rocks, model fish, shells, and products made out of substances coming from the ocean. Come with curiosity and questions so we can talk about marine biology!

W11862: Learn the Chinese Yo-Yo!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mikayla Murphy

The Chinese Yo-Yo, also known as Diabolo, has been a popular circus prop for many years. Come learn how to play with this fun toy that also is an important part of Chinese heritage!

W11985: Office Hours
Difficulty: **

I will answer your questions.

Suggested topics:
- photography
- audio recording
- linguistics
- tech support
- fashion advice
- college life
- cheese
- candy bars
- breath of the wild
- whatever

Disclaimer: I have wildly varying qualifications regarding these topics. In some I am quite experienced, in others I know less than you do. Asking questions to appear smart earns you 0 bonus points.

W11530: Science Bowl
Difficulty: **

Come play high school Science Bowl and try to win for bragging rights and learn some awesome things about science! Know lots of science trivia, love hitting buzzers, or just want to try to answer questions ridiculously fast? This is the walk-in for you! You do not need to have familiarity/experience with this game to participate!

W11775: Fun with Sustainability!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Rebecca Grekin

Come find out how much you know about sustainability! Spin the trivia wheel, complete the challenges, and win some prizes!

W12014: Physical Puzzles!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sophie Mori, Jerry Wu

Do you love those puzzles where you have two interlocked pieces and you need to figure out how to separate them, or the ones where you need to put together a collection of blocks? Whether it's twisting and sliding or pushing and pulling, come here to solve puzzles with us!

W12015: Board Games and Logic Puzzles!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Mayukha Vadari

Play board games ranging from Settlers of Catan to Dominion, and logic puzzles ranging from sudoku to nonograms!

W11638: SET and Its Variations!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jenna Himawan

Have you ever played the card game SET? How about 3-deck SET with colored borders, using the borders as an additional attribute? How about SET with cards facedown? SET Sudoku?

If your answer to any of those questions was "No", come play! Players with any level of experience are welcome!


Prerequisites
Being colorblind will be inconvenient.

W11926: Acrylic Painting
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Candace Tong-Li

We'll be using mini canvases to create dynamic (and pocket-sized) paintings.

Come create a piece of art that you can take home with you!

W11776: Friendship Bracelets 101
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Katie Fisher

Learn the ancient art of friendship bracelet making! We'll have beads, lanyard and embroidery thread, and experts to teach you how to make a masterpiece. Come with a friend, or make one here!!

W11908: Linguistics Problem Solving
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Adam Hesterberg

Do you enjoy unraveling logic puzzles, want to learn about other languages, or crave the feeling of a good riddle?

Come solve fun problems from the Linguistics Olympiads, NACLO and IOL!

A variety of languages, problem styles, and difficulty levels will be provided for you to solve. Logic and reasoning are your main weapon here – no prior linguistics knowledge required!

W12000: Python Bee!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Andrew He

Do you love programming in Python really really quickly? Are you good a telepathy? Well test your skills in both in the Splash Python Bee! You'll form teams and type out Python challenges one character at a time, while learning some cool Python constructs. Good luck, and see you there!

W11824: Chinese Chess (xiangqi)
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Louis Gosart

This will be a walk-in activity in which students can learn and play Chinese chess! Chinese chess is wonderful game that is not very commonly played in the States. This game will be great for people who may be very interested in learning something new and to those who like chess! I will have many pamphlets to hand out to people to help them learn the game. I will also personally be helping out and showing students how to play.

W12017: Mahjong
Difficulty: **
Teachers: George Liu-Krason

Mahjong is a multiplayer tile game originating from Asia. It is a game that requires skill and strategic thinking but also involves an element of luck. All skill levels are welcome whether you're new to the game or have been playing for a long time.

W11618: Between the Lines: Crosswords and Coloring!
Difficulty: **

We've got coloring books, Crayola crayons, and crosswords. Shade within the lines of your drawings or write letters inside the lines of a grid. It's like kindergarten all over again!

W11932: Electronic Music Improvisation
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Byron Xu

Come stop by and make some music using just our laptop and keyboard! No music experience needed.

W12019: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Marianne Olsen

We'll make you some very, very cool ice cream :)

W11539: Speak Lojban!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

This walk-in activity gives students of all levels a chance to practice speaking Lojban, whether they want to prepare for the Lojban-only class, do not know any Lojban and are curious about what the language is like, or have any other purpose.

W11666: Relaxing Modular Origami
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Chris Yu

Tired after your other classes? Come chill and learn the basics of modular origami. Open to all levels of experience!

W11572: Sporcle!
Difficulty: **

Come take quizzes with other students on topics you suggest! (Personal favorites range from Avatar the Last Airbender to K-pop)

W11780: Poi
Difficulty: **

Come join us in learning about this ancient spinning art!

W11907: Food tongue 101
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Adam Hesterberg

Come learn food tongue, a language in which every word is a food, by immersion!

W12004: Soma Cube Puzzle
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sophie Mori

The Soma cube is a 7-piece puzzle. The pieces may be assembled into a 3x3x3 cube, and there are 240 distinct ways to do this! Come play with some handmade Soma cubes, and if you solve enough puzzles, you can even take a set home!

W12011: Learn to Juggle!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Collin Perkinson

Juggling, the art of creative object manipulation, was first documented around 4000 years ago in an ancient tomb of an Egyptian prince, and today it is practiced around the world. A unique and beautiful art form, juggling is related to dance, weaving, and mathematics. It provides a good mental and physical workout and is lots of fun!

The MIT Student Juggling Club is here at Splash 2017 to teach YOU how to juggle! Come join us at our walk-in activity and learn to juggle with balls, rings, or clubs. Beginners are welcome!

W12021: Mutant Plushie Lab
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Wendy Wang

Create an army of mis-matched minions to unleash your vengeance on the world! Or, you know, just see what a teddy with an alligator head would look like. If you would rather play with Sid's toys than Andy's, this is the Activity for you. No prior sewing/gene splicing experience required.


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X11802: Learn Your Way Around MIT!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ray Hua Wu

MIT has its own neat code of referring to geographical locations. Buildings are often called by their numbers. And they're actually mostly method with touches of madness. Don't worry, this class will cover plenty of both.


Prerequisites
Be able to walk comfortably.

X11954: Planning a Summer Trip to Europe
Difficulty: **

Where to go, what to see, how to see it, where to stay, safety issues and so much more. We just spent 87 days traveling to/from and through 26 countries in Europe including Russia, Iceland and Greenland. Quick overview on planning with a slide show of some different or special areas. Bring questions especially if you plan to see a certain region someday.


Prerequisites
A love of travel:)

X11803: Being an Immovable Object
Difficulty: *
Teachers: James Koppel

If you twist your shoulder in the right way, you can lift twice as much. Tense your abs in the right way, and you can punch three times as hard. Whether you like martial arts or yoga, dancing or football, or even if you just want to seem more confident when presenting, you can do more with less effort when you put your body in a position of stability. So come to this class and get better at everything!

X11707: How to Be a Studying Ninja
Difficulty: *

Ahhh studying--it's what I do on a typical Friday night. And Saturday night. And Sunday night. And. . . well, you'd think it would get old after a while, but studying can be interesting when you know some cool tricks and (Jedi) mind games. Now, you might be wondering, "why would I use my weekend to take a class that teaches me about how to study more?" Well, this class isn't about studying more, it's about studying more awesome-ly. You'll learn how to be a studying ninja through use of mnemonic techniques, organization of material, and understanding of how the brain interprets and encodes information And, once you know the secrets, you'll have at least a few free nights to not studying (unless you just want to keep studying because it's so much fun).

X11916: Introduction to Rugby
Difficulty: **

This is an introduction to the rules and some of the most basic motions of the game. After learning about the brief history of the game and what each position does, we will try some fun (non-contact) drills on how to pass and catch and then we will finish off with a contact free scrimmage.


Prerequisites
None

X11685: AAAMA // Ask Avery and Megan Anything Full!
Difficulty: *

Sometimes it's hard to get a sense about what a life and culture of a school is like w/o interacting with the students. So we have brought in two of MIT's most MIT-esque students (us) to provide you with that.

'We're two MIT student, come and ask us questions about our lives and our school.' - Avery

'Ask Avery and Megan Anything,well almost anything. Actually pretty much anything. We'll answer your questions about MIT, and well, anything.' - Megan


Prerequisites
curiosity - megan, bring a question - avery

X11901: How to Design Anything
Difficulty: *

Learn about a design process that can help you make anything, whether it's a sleek website, a memorable event, a college application, or the newest gadget. Then, use what you've learned to tackle a real design challenge and create something new. This class will change the way you look at school, at projects, and at life, so you can take them to the next level.

X11543: Non-Dairy Milks and Their Uses Full!
Difficulty: *

More than half the world's adults have some level of intolerance to lactose. This does not include milk allergies, which also prevent people from drinking cow's milk. There are many non-dairy milk alternatives, which allow people to enjoy milk while avoiding dairy. We will be discussing and tasting some of these alternatives, including soy milk, almond milk, and rice milk. We will try these milks in several different forms!

Please note: This class will have no dairy products, but will include various nut and soy products.

X11716: Abacus
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jingyi Zhao

Learn abacus and do arithmetic faster! 4 fingers required.

X11897: Everything You Didn't Want To Know About Law School
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Lydia Brown

Have you known you wanted to go to law school since you could talk and argue and win? Are your parents pressuring you to pick between doctor and lawyer? Have you already declared Pre-Law at your first-choice college? Are you just wondering whether law school might be right for you?

Bring all your questions, and yes, I do mean all. I'm a third-year law student right here in Boston, and my partner is also a lawyer who's been out of hell (er, law school) for five years. You might not learn about The Law, but you will learn about hell. I mean, law school. (cough) (cough) (wink) (nod) (sideways glance) (cough)


Prerequisites
At least a vague interest in the distant possibility of suffering through hell, I mean, law school

X11914: Prisoner's Dilemma & MORE FUN
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Dexin Li, Sarah Wang

You and your friend have been caught committing a crime. WHAT DO YOU DO???? Who can you trust? Come find out!

Introduction to game theory with topics including Prisoner's Dilemma and its variations.

X11735: Making the Best Financial Decisions for You: College, Career, etc...
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Patricia Craig

A few major decisions can really influence your life and possibly have a lasting influence on your future happiness. What career you choose, what college you attend, how you pay for college, who you choose to marry, whether you buy a house or rent - - these are some of the really big "financial" decisions. The purpose of this course is to help you expand your thinking on these very critical decisions with particular emphasis on college decisions.

X11945: Financial Planning 101 for College Living
Difficulty: *

What do you need to pack/ purchase for a typical dorm room? What expenses outside of tuition, room and board and books will you need or want to cover each month? Should you have a credit card or bank account? Some expenses can vary greatly depending on the college, nearby town and personal wants but we will cover the basics in this class and leave you with a spreadsheet that you can fill in with your own particular information/ expectations and estimates as you speak with different colleges.


Prerequisites
None.

X12001: Bad Data Visualization and How to Avoid It
Difficulty: **

What makes a graph good? What makes one bad? Have you ever seen a chart so confusing that you can't understand it?

This class will look at some bad visualizations and talk about what makes them bad. For example, they may be confusing, difficult to read, or have multiple interpretations. We'll also discuss how these visualizations could potentially be improved.


Prerequisites
A basic understanding of how to read charts (bar/line/pie charts, etc.)

X11730: MIT Simulator
Difficulty: ***

Your challenge is to finish a bizarre, """interdisciplinary""" pset, featuring problems from MIT classes and other much stranger sources, in 2 hours. With the help of cryptic teaching assistants, Wikipedia, a near-infinite supply of scratch paper, and your classmates, make sure one finished copy of each problem winds up in each pset box. Work against the clock and test your skills at mind-boggling math, perplexing physics problems, baffling biology, collecting sociological data on your friends, and...word puzzles?!?


Prerequisites
General curiosity and willingness to expand your comfort zone and work together with others are you will need. Some familiarity with calculus and basic biology, physics, and chemistry will help you, and we would like to have at least a few people who are knowledgeable about each of those things in the class, but it's neither necessary nor sufficient.

X11736: Hard Times: Tips to Help You Manage Adversity
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Patricia Craig

Every person has times in their life when it is really tough. Whether a parent lost a job, a grandparent just died, someone you know has cancer, parents are getting divorced, or not fitting in at school--coping and trying to stay upbeat seems nearly impossible. This course will provide some helpful hints on managing those rough patches. The hints are drawn from the following books, “The Adversity Quotient”, “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”, and “The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook.” Additionally, some hints from Stanford Professor Michael Ray’s course, “Creativity in Business” will be discussed.

X11811: How to Play Tractor (Card Game)
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Yolanda Zhou

Learn how to play Tractor, a really fun card game, and then just play it for an hour!!

X11793: How to Become the Very Model of a Modern Major General
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jingyi Zhao

It takes a lot of effort, but we are here to help!


Prerequisites
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGWoXDFM64

X11826: Swing Dancing!
Difficulty: *

Swing dancing dates back to the 1930s. It is a simple partner dance often done to "swing" style jazz music (think Sinatra!). In this class, we will teach you the basic steps as well as a few simple moves. You will not need to bring a partner, as we will be rotating partners throughout the lesson!

*All levels welcome -- no previous dance experience required!

X11941: The Art of Arguing
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Vicky Lee

Learn how to construct an argument, write a persuasive paper, dominate presentations, and ace all your reports. At the very least, learn how to win arguments against your friends.

X11820: Dating
Difficulty: *

Everything you didn't know and didn't think to ask.


Prerequisites
Gluestick optional.

X11623: Insider's Guide to Traveling/Living in Japan
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jennifer Yoo

Have you ever wanted to go to Japan? To travel, to study, or work and live there long term? If so, this course is for you. This course will offer you a close (and honest) look into what traveling and/or living in Japan entails from a veteran who has traveled from Okinawa to Hokkaido and back, worked in Japan on the JET Program, and more.

Come for tips, tricks, and crazy stories!


Prerequisites
This course is intended to be largely interactive. Students will have significant influence on course content based on personal interests in Japan so please come prepared to both ask and answer questions!

X11938: Anatomy of a Fountain Pen
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Bowen Yu

Fountain pens may seem like a thing from the days of yore, but they are making a real comeback! Whether it’s about being steampunk, #calligraphy on Instagram or whatever you kids do these days, a myriad of benefits come with using a fountain pen. It can not only help you have neater handwriting but some evidence even shows it can help your self-esteem and raise your academic performance. In class, we will cover the basic parts of a fountain pen, the common variations you might come across and some writing techniques. I will provide some cheap fountain pens for you to try out and play around with.


Prerequisites
Absolutely no prior experience necessary!

X11528: Let's Talk About the NBA!
Difficulty: **

KD on the Warriors. The rise of Embiid, Antetokounmpo, and Jokic. Russell Westbrook's never-ending train of triple-doubles (not to forget James Harden!). Come discuss storylines from this year's NBA season, predictions, statistics, issues like tanking, or maybe all-time greats. You'll get to shape the discussion based on what topics interest you most.


Prerequisites
Passion for Basketball and the NBA

X11783: Food Science: Ice Cream
Difficulty: **

Have you ever made ice cream at home with salt and ice? Well, we're making it with Liquid Nitrogen and Dry Ice, because we're extra like that. If you just want some ice cream, this is the class for you. But if you're here for the science behind it all, we've got that too! Join (Finding) Dory and (Curious) George for some really cold dessert!


Prerequisites
Advanced Ice Cream Theory II and III (Helpful but not mandatory)

X11978: Waffle Making!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Regan Dvoskin, Evan Tey

Learn to make waffles!

X11721: Interactive Narrative
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sam Dukhovni

Learn about and play through cool text-based interactive games! Wander through a maze of twisty passages all alike, find your lost pig, and don't be late for work!

X11529: Let's Talk about Baseball!
Difficulty: **

Come interact with other enthusiastic baseball nerds about the MLB 2016-17 season, playoffs, offseason, and sabermetrics! Don't know what the last word means? We can talk about that too!


Prerequisites
A little knowledge about what transpired in the most recent MLB season.

X11996: What? Where? When? - Russian Game Show!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Saranesh Prembabu

Что? Где? Когда? ("Chto? Gde? Kogda?", English "Who? Where? When?") is a competitive intellectual game very popular across Russia and the former Soviet Union. Teams guess clever answers to challenging trivia questions.

Come join us to play a round, have fun, and win prizes! Удачи вам!

(you do not need to have formed a team in advance)


Prerequisites
None; questions generally do not require very specialized knowledge in any subject, and will be asked in English

X11838: To be, or not to be (a sandwich)
Difficulty: *

What is a sandwich?

Mankind has been asking itself this age-old question since it first crawled out of the caves many eons ago. In fact, some rumors say that language was invented for the very purpose of allowing man to conceive of the concept of the sandwich.

Today, we inspect the sandwich alignment chart, the modern culmination of millennia of intellectual pursuit and push further! We will entertain thought experiments defining the boundary between sandwichness and non-sandwichness. Factions will form, friendships broken. Come join us and find where you stand on the topic of what is and what is not a sandwich.

X11998: Nonsense!
Difficulty: ****
Teachers: Matt Bahner

Everything you know about reality will soon confuse you

X11604: Ultimate Frisbee 101
Difficulty: *

Learn the basics of ultimate frisbee - throwing, pivoting, catching, and cutting effectively. Then scrimmage!


Prerequisites
Sneakers and athletic clothes required!

X11893: LGBT... Q?
Difficulty: *

There is increasing awareness and, arguably, acceptance of LGBT people and issues in society. However, that acronym, and the average person's understanding of the queer community, still leaves a lot of people out. This class will discuss such topics as:

* The asexuality spectrum

* Romantic orientation vs. sexual orientation

* Non-binary genders

* Intersex conditions

* Pansexuality and its overlap with bisexuality

* The overlap between the LGBTQ community and other communities

Students will hopefully come away with a better understanding of the broader queer/LGBTQ community and have resources to explore the issues further if they would like.


Prerequisites
No prerequisites necessary. However, this course will discuss difficult subject matter including sex, rape culture and coercive medical treatment.

X11674: Create Your Own Pentominoes Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Sophie Mori

Come learn how to use vector editing software. We will solve a pentomino puzzle, a fun 12-piece tiling puzzle, and then design a template for printing then. I will laser cut your design for you, and you can come pick it up later and then you will have your own set of pentominoes to play with!


Prerequisites
No experience required

X11818: X-Risks: An Introduction to Human Extinction
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Juan Gil

Thanks largely to accelerating technological progress, humanity may be approaching a critical phase in its development. Our future depends on how well we protect against threats like bioterrorism and nuclear warfare, but also how responsibly we develop new technologies like artificial intelligence and nanotechnology. What can we do to ensure a long, fruitful career for mankind?

X11782: Let's talk about the NFL!
Difficulty: **

What's the best time to talk about the football season? During football season! Come discuss and rant about your fantasy teams or your favorite teams or anything related to the NFL! We may or may not also discuss some changes to the league.

(We will not be entertaining strong political views, it'll just be football talk!)


Prerequisites
A decent knowledge of the NFL.

X11980: 50 Bugs and Glitches in Pokemon Red and Blue
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Philip Tran

Come learn about all the bad code in the original Pokemon games. It's not necessarily bad code; there just wasn't enough storage to add new bytes causing strange interactions. Like how critical strikes happen 4x as likely as they are supposed to? Or how ghost types were immune to the 'Struggle' attack because it was coded as a normal attack?

Did you know that when a Pokemon has a attack/defense stat greater than 255, you can freeze the game because it might try to divide by zero? Or how you can't recover if your recover your health if it's higher than 255? Leech seed, Poison, and Burn all used the same damage counter, so they increase twice as fast with both status defects. Or that a Great Ball can actually have a higher capture rate than an Ultra Ball based on the enemy's health?

Come even if you haven't played the original Pokemon games, because it's not necessary.

X11809: If School Sucks... then Start Your Own: a peerschool guide for teens
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jim Flannery

Do you feel trapped in school? It turns out, you don't have to go - there are options. Over the last 4 years, I've traveled all across the U.S. exploring all the different types of learning methodologies outside of the traditional school system. This is far more interesting than charter schools and magnet schools. There are other options from unschooling to democratic schools to free schools and Liberated Learning centers. I'll teach you all that I've learned and give you some guidance on how you could create your own self-directed learning centers. You'll even have a chance to virtually meet some of the amazing teens learning at these unique centers - join us!

X11571: Introduction to Puzzle Hunting
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Yuan Yao

Interested in challenging yourself in unexpected areas? Fond of doing Sudoku or crossword or trivia games? Simply wanting to figure things out? Come explore the world of puzzle hunting, which is probably nothing like any of your previous experiences of puzzling! Learn about the basics of puzzle hunting, the common techniques in solving puzzles, and try your hands at some of the puzzle from hunts like the MIT Mystery Hunt. No previous experience required!

X11702: Living With Invisible Illness
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Leo Alcock

From having to drop out of highschool in freshman year, to making day to day decisions that knowingly cause immense physical pain, my illness has had a fairly significant impact on my life. In this talk I will be discussing my illness (which is somewhat complicated but best described as "chronic fatigue syndrome") and more specifically how it shapes all decisions from a micro to a macro-scale.

X12002: Applications of Statistical Mechanics
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Jessy Lin, Evan Tey

Statistical mechanics is a branch of physics that uses statistics and probability to understand systems of particles -- usually to understand phenomena like thermodynamics and heat. It turns out that you can apply the same ways of thinking to understand and model lots of complex systems and used for everything from weather forecasting to economic games to the brain.


We'll teach you some fundamental statistical mechanics concepts from the ground up and show you how they can be applied to these everyday systems. Hopefully you'll walk away with an understanding of what your physics teachers meant when they said "physics explains the world," and a deeper appreciation for how different fields of science are all connected.


Prerequisites
A strong understanding of algebra is required. Calculus and physics are recommended but not strictly required.

X11981: Pokemon: Explanation of the Missingno Glitch
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Philip Tran

There's 31 Pokemon that never made it into the games. Instead of reordering the bytes, the developers just used a placeholder called Missingno or M'. You can catch these placeholders under a certain set of parameters like the name of your character. But wait, why would your character name influence which Pokemon you can catch. Come to this class and find out!

X11863: Study Abroad in High School-- For Free!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Mikayla Murphy

Ride camels in Morocco. Celebrate Chinese New Year in China. Sing K-pop in Korea. Become fluent in Bosnian. Go skiing in the German alps. Attend 11th grade in Ghana. Find your home away from home in Macedonia. Eat turkey- in Turkey!

Guess what? You could do all of these while still in high school- for free!

Come learn about US government-sponsored study abroad programs designed especially for high schoolers! We'll talk about programs such as CBYX, NSLI-Y, and YES Abroad, as well as discuss the benefits and challenges of studying abroad in high school. We'll also go over application tips and tricks and other advice on how to prepare for a trip overseas.


Prerequisites
An interest in other cultures- no previous travel or foreign language experience necessary!

X11848: Move your Body!
Difficulty: ***

Ever feel like getting a workout, but don't have a gym? Tired of sitting in classes all day? Come learn good form for a variety of bodyweight exercises and hear about the importance of strength training. Then, try for yourself a short, fun group workout! Modifications will be available for all levels.


Prerequisites
Comfort trying bodyweight exercises; no workout experience needed

X11561: Want to save a life? Learn CPR and First Aid!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Anjali Misra

Come join MIT Emergency Medical Services for a quick training in Hands-Only CPR and First Aid! We’ll go over the basics of chest compressions, practice on mannequins, and have you trained to do CPR within minutes. Then, you'll learn about how you can use First Aid techniques to help out in a variety of emergencies. Immediate CPR can triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival, so we guarantee this will be worth your time. Come by and learn how to save a life today!

X11868: Salsa
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Afura Taylor

Learn to dance salsa! For all levels! :)

(will also learn bachata and merengue)

X11797: The Science of Chocolate, How to Make Truffles

Do you love chocolate? Ever wonder why chocolate melts in your mouth? Or gets dry and crumbly when it's old? Join us to discover the science and engineering behind chocolate! Learn how to go from a cocoa bean to a truffle and discover phase diagrams, nucleation, and a little bit of history while you're at it. Ample chocolate will be provided.

X11810: Unlock your potential through unschooling
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jim Flannery

Do you feel like you are being held back by the school system? Do you feel like you've got so much potential but it just isn't being utilized? You're not alone.
In the last 4 years, I've traveled the U.S. meeting young people who have felt the same way - and they've found a solution through 'unschooling.' In the U.S. alone, there are over 40,000 teens who are charting their own course and controlling their own educational destiny through self-directed learning. I'll teach you everything I've learned and you'll even get to meet some of these wonderful teens virtually - come join us!


Prerequisites
none

X11713: Ask a Random Couple Anything
Difficulty: *

Back by popular demand. Same random couple, same random place. Come ask us anything; we welcome any and all questions. Free of charge. There will be even more candy. You can trust us.

X11744: Hacking the Mind with Meditation
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Blake Elias

Learn some simple breathing techniques, explore the mind-breath connection, and meditate! Learn how the breath can affect the state of our mind, lead to different states of consciousness, automatically reduce stress, increase focus, and make us more productive and effective at working with others. Enjoy some guided meditation!


Prerequisites
Have a functioning brain :) Be on time :) (though if you arrive a bit late you may come anyway) Helps to be on a relatively empty stomach: 2 hours since your last meal would be best (though snacks are okay). You do NOT need to already be a calm/meditative person, or have any prior experience with meditative practices. Don't worry if you have ADHD, etc., you'll be ABSOLUTELY FINE! This class will help everyone, whether you have experience or don't!

X11607: Gender Beyond the Binary
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ryker Reed

Like thinking about gender? Ever felt like male and female don't cover all the possibilities? Come learn all about the Gender Spectrum and all the different identities that a person can have that fall outside the Binary of Female or Male. We will talk about gender identity in society, in science, and in life. Come enjoy a fun discussion and bring your questions! No prior knowledge necessary, just respect and an open mind.

X11579: Smart Learning, Eating, Exercising, and Thinking
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Uma Girkar

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has developed a Media Smart Youth program for community leaders to help children become more aware of their nutrition and physical activity choices. I will use the program materials designed by NIH to teach healthy eating and exercising habits in a fun yet informational manner. Get ready for some jumping jacks and learning about carbs. Further details of the program can be viewed here (https://www.nichd.nih.gov/msy/Pages/index.aspx).


Prerequisites
None

X11995: How to Play Mahjong
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Siddarth Guha

Ever seen the cool kids on the street playing Mahjong and wished that could be you? Well now you can learn too! We'll be going over the basic rules and finer nuances of this ancient Chinese game. Even if you're not a pro by the end of the class, we hope that you'll have had a lot of fun and learned a cool new game! (Fun for ages 9-99)

X11554: Live, Laugh, Lead: Exciting Leadership Activities
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Blake Berk

Crossing deadly rivers of molten chocolate, escaping explosive minefields, and constructing great pyramids. Now what does all this have to do with Leadership? Come and find out…

Do you like games, teamwork, creative problem solving, or having fun? Want to know how this can help you become a better leader? Come and participate in fun interactive activities, and maybe learn a thing or two about leadership.

The Leadership Training Institute (LTI) is a high school mentoring program right here at MIT, and we will be sending mentors to lead what will surely be a jam-packed session of excitement, fun, and thoughtful conversation.

X11611: How to be a spy
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jeremiah Robertson

How you ever watched Quantico or Homeland and wanted to know what it's actually like to be a spy? Are you super observant? Do you know how to develop a dead drop? Do you know what an SDR is? Come learn about the different aspects of being a spy and whether you want to do it for a living!


Prerequisites
None

X12022: Tour of MIT
Difficulty: *
Teachers: MIT Tour Guides

Take an official MIT Admissions tour of MIT! Parents will not be allowed on these tours -- there will be separate tours available at Parent's Program.


Prerequisites
None!

X11886: Learn to Design and Create DIY Custom T-Shirts
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Zachary Pitcher

We've all been there: You want a certain style t-shirt and you've come up with a great design for it, but you don't want to shell out the $20 it would cost to contract online custom T-shirt printers to make your one shirt.
Come to this class and you'll learn different methods and techniques to create the shirt yourself with limited supplies and for little more than the cost of a plain white tee (that's ~$3)

X11896: How To Throw Cards Full!
Difficulty: *

Learn how to throw cards! Slice soft things with just a playing card and learn a few magic tricks.

X11748: D&D Session Full!
Difficulty: *

Whether you are a veteran RPG player or completely new to the genre, join us for an invigorating session of Dungeons and Dragons (5th edition)! D&D is a rule-based roleplaying game in which players assume identities and embark on quests in fantasy environments. Everything from discovering long lost underwater cities to hijacking pirate ships to uncovering ancient tombs to negotiating peace treatises between sovereign nations. It's basically make-believe for adults.

We'll be running two sessions during this class -- one tailored towards new players and another for more experienced players.


Prerequisites
No experience with D&D (or any role-playing game) required

X11884: Tarot, Symbolism, and Mapping our Thoughts
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Elise Michaels

What is tarot? What do the cards mean? What should we make of the symbolism? How can tarot be useful to us?
If you like history, mythology, party tricks, or storytelling, you will probably find tarot pretty interesting! In the class we'll cover the history of tarot, learn how to read the cards, and practice some basic spreads. We'll also learn how to use tarot for meditation and decision making.

X11917: Building Community Experientially
Difficulty: *

We will play a series of games to get to know the folks in our class better! I'll also talk a little about how you could lead other groups in similar activities. You can come to learn about experiential games or just to enjoy getting to know some of the cool people at Splash!

X11556: How to Run A Splash

Ever thought about what happens behind-the-scenes when you sign up for Splash classes? Or how all of our teachers and classes fit into MIT's classrooms? Splash takes months to plan, and for good reason. Come learn how we make Splash happen every year!

X11857: Dumbledore's Army
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Ryker Reed

Want to learn about social justice in the age of Voldemort? Life can be scary, but even if you're still a student wizard, you can do something to help! Are there death eaters roaming the streets, making you or your friends feel unsafe? Is the ministry instituting harmful policies that have you feeling frustrated, scared, and hopeless? Come learn how to take a stand and fight back to defend yourself and your friends from the dark arts! We'll be talking about parallels with the books as well as real-world ways you can make a difference! No prior knowledge needed, just your courage, wit, cunning, and loyalty! See you in the Room of Requirement!

X11958: Leadership
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Rebecca McCabe

Ever had an idea for something cool, but didn't know how to bring it to life? Or maybe you're an officer of a club and want to make your role as meaningful as possible?

Learn how to start new clubs/programs/initiatives, improve existing organizations, and be an effective leader. Topics include getting an idea off the ground, servant leadership and other leadership strategies, how to work with frustrating people, and effective communication. Class is taught by someone who in high school founded 2 clubs, was president of 3, and officer of many more.

X11975: Introduction to Machine Learning and the Philosophy of Wittgenstein
Difficulty: ***

Machine learning technology is now ubiquitous, and its societal impact is exploding, from self-driving cars to the targeted ad campaigns that may have swung the 2016 election. The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein, one of the 20th century's leading philosophers, has a lot to tell us about the nature and limits of these technologies. This course provides a concise introduction to both machine learning and Wittgenstein's thought, and investigates what these two subjects have to say about each other.

The two-hour class will consist of three parts. The first part will be a brief introduction to key concepts in machine learning such as supervised and unsupervised learning, classification and regression, clustering, support vector machines, neural nets, and applications. The second part will introduce Wittgenstein's ideas about the philosophy of mind and language, with a special focus on the private language argument and the indeterminacy of meaning. In the final part of the class, we will reinvestigate notions of machine learning from the perspective of Wittgensteinian philosophy by trying to answer questions such as, "What does it really mean to 'learn' a rule?" and "How can we know when we have successfully recognized a pattern?"


Prerequisites
The course will involve a mixture of technical and non-technical material. As such, it has no formal prerequisites, and we hope that it will provide an enjoyable introduction to both machine learning and Wittgenstein for students who have no background in either. However, the technical content will be easier going for students who have some prior knowledge of statistics, linear algebra, or the Western philosophical tradition.

X11542: A Surprise Topic Class in Lojban/lo nunctuca be fu lo jai spaji bei bau la lojban
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Robert Kao

This is a class that will be taught entirely in Lojban. The topic is not announced beforehand. The main rule is that whenever someone (including, of course, the teacher) starts talking in a language other than Lojban, point to that person and exclaim, "ko tavla fo la lojban".

lo ka ti noi nunctuca ku'o pilno ce'u noi bangu cu steci la lojban i tu'a lo ve ctuca cu na se jarco i ralju fa lo javni be lo nu va'o lo nu da noi li'a lo ctuca cu me ke'a ku'o zi'e goi ko'a co'a tavla fo na'e bo la lojban kei ko degjyjarco ko'a gi'e krixa lu ko tavla fo la lojban li'u


Prerequisites
In order to enjoy this class fully, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the Lojban language. Fluency in the language is not a requirement; students only need to know enough to decipher the meaning of most sentences. See the attachment for the recommended preparation. However, the class may be interesting to sit through even if the teacher cannot be understood, so students with all levels of Lojban are welcome. Do not worry too much if you cannot study everything that is recommended; the class will go quite slowly so that students have time to figure out most sentences. Also, note that there is a survey at the bottom of the document; the teacher will use this information to decide how quickly to go through the class material.

X11929: Fruit Sculpting Full!
Difficulty: *

Channel your inner Picasso and crate Strawberry Night, or sculpt a breathtaking Venus de Mango. Wherever your artistic vision takes you, we'll be there with fruit to help you create your best masterpiece. Or at least a masterpiece-of-fruit.

X11918: Battlebots
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Kip Stahlecker

Whether you have been following Battlebots for as long as you can remember or are interested in seeing what all of the hype is about, this is the class for you. We will go over the history and rules of Battlebots, discuss the different types of Battlebots in order to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and watch and analyze Battlebots fights.


Prerequisites
An interest in Battlebots

X11629: Overcoming bias
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jacqueline Ludwig

From Google to Charlottesville, bias shapes our national conversations. But is it only a problem of executives and fringe elements? Is it a problem at all? This class will focus on identifying our own biases and thinking critically about where they come from, how to fix them, and if we should.

X11639: Recollection! It's a card game!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Jenna Himawan

Recollection is a very fun memory and deduction card game for 6 players (2 teams of 3). Some of you may know it as "Fish" or "Canadian Fish".

If you like Hanabi, strategy games, memory games, and/or logic puzzles, you should come play!

X11798: Everyone Is John: The Simplest RPG You'll Ever Play Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Mathew Suazo

Character creation. Rolling a ton of dice. Keeping track of your loot. Who needs 'em? Come check out the role-playing game that requires only one die, two skills, and your imagination!

X11804: Being a Proud Tribesman
Difficulty: *
Teachers: James Koppel

Give an American soldier a heavy pack, and moving becomes harder. Give it to an African villager, and moving becomes easier. Turns out they're just better at walking than us. And standing and sitting. Come learn why everything you know about posture is wrong.

Superpowers to be had from this class include the ability to see things directly behind you and being able to sleep on a wooden log. Some increase in height may be expected. Warning: Upon completion of this class, your life may feel like an endless massage. You may also experience a sudden urge to replace all your furniture.


Prerequisites
Bring a jacket, or something else soft and moldable. We will be using it to modify the shape of chairs.

X11635: Working With Children
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Alexis Oriole

If you have ever wanted to be a teacher, scout leader, camp counselor, etc., or if you are just interested in learning about working with kids, then this class is for you! We will cover topics such as group control and leadership skills, and we will mostly focus on working with kids ages 5-13. This is a HANDS-ON class, meaning we will be playing a lot of games!!

X11751: Can technology save the T?
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Joshua Fabian

It's no secret that the MBTA, and many other public transit systems in the US, often face delays, disruptions, and various other misfortunes? (Have you ever been late to something because of the T?) Have you ever wondered what we can do about it, and what the MBTA and others are doing? What will the future of transit be like? Will it even involve Hyperloop?

Come make sense of these questions by learning about topics such as transit signal prioritization, the General (Google?) Transit Feed Specification, vehicle dispatching, and "mobility as a service".

Students are of course encouraged to bring their own transit-related questions for discussion.


Prerequisites
Best to have previously ridden the MBTA around Boston, or some other public subway or bus system in the world.

X11846: Effective Altruism
Difficulty: *

Effective altruism is the practice of using evidence and reason to determine how to most improve the world. This class will discuss how YOU can be an effective altruist and make the greatest positive impact!


Prerequisites
An interest in doing good!

X11812: Run and Fight: Mobility & Maneuver in Warfare
Difficulty: *
Teachers: john boland

We'll go over a prepared lecture covering thinkers such as Sun Tzu, B.H. Liddell Hart, and J.F.C. Fuller, and how their thinking evolved into Blitzkreig warfare and -- more broadly -- modern maneuver warfare. We'll go over several related tactics and several historical battles, all in pursuit of illustrating the value of mobility.

X11942: You'll find out...
Difficulty: ****

You're spending a weekend at MIT taking classes, and you have like 20 time slots to fill. With classes about time travel, ice cream, Chinese sauces, Knots and more why bother taking a class you know nothing about?

Well, we're not about to give away a whole lot here, just know there'll be food, music, and we'll have a good time.

Sign up (or don't)
I'm not here to tell you what to do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Prerequisites
Just be ready...


Social Studies

[ Return to Category List ]

Z11767: Technology and the Ancient World
Difficulty: *
Teachers: May Tomic

Did the Ancient Greeks build computers?
Could Machine Learning crack the 4,000-year-old Indus script? Were the Romans wearing wristwatches? Yes, yes, and yes! In this course we will explore how the ancients used technology, and how we use modern technology to learn more about the ancients.

Z11754: Health and Healing in the Middle Ages
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Riley Drake

We'll investigate the diagnosis, treatment, and social implications of ailments in the medieval West. Though medieval medicine is often glossed over as rudimentary, medieval methods of healing were as varied as the complex ideological frameworks on which they were based. Topics of the course include herbal, magical, and alchemical remedies, saints, shrines, miracles and the professionalization of medicine.

Z11948: Non-linear Thinking in a Linear World
Difficulty: **

Does doing one thing at a time drive you batty? Do people frequently tell you to pay attention or to 'stay on topic?' Do you think in pictures instead of words? Does the whole "You have to do it in the right order" concept bother you? Join us for an exploration of the How's and Why's of non-linear thinking. We'll talk about how to recognize and develop strengths, not just how to 'fit in.'


Prerequisites
Open-mindedness

Z11952: What the Heck is Happening in the Rest of the World? Full!
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brock Adler

This session will be an open-ended facilitated discussion about important events and changes that are going on internationally beyond the US borders. We’ll focus on the areas in the world that you are interested in, both the struggles and the progress, and including the current situations and what led up to them. We’d like to hear from you about what you’re learning regarding the fast-paced changes in these times and, we encourage you to do some research ahead of time to share with your fellow students about what you’re focused on around the world.

Z11979: Mini Model US Congress
Difficulty: *

Do you think that you know better than the Congress? What would you do to make a difference if you were elected? How would you convince the rest of the body to follow along with your plan?

In this class, you'll be playing US legislators. You, the representatives of your assigned states, will be given an issue, and tasked with preparing competing bills to find a solution. You'll have to act as representatives of your state, writing and voting on legislation as they would. You'll decide when bills are voted on, and then you get to vote.

Since we can't simulate the Congress exactly, we'll be using some modified rules of parliamentary procedures, but the goals will be the same.


Prerequisites
An interest in politics.

Z11598: Gerrymandering: Theory and Practice
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Benjamin Kraft

Gerrymandering: America's favorite political power play since 1812. We'll learn how and why parties draw congressional districts with nicknames like "The Pinwheel of Death", "The Mistake by the Lake", and "The 8 Mile Mess", and why it's hard to outlaw such madness. Then you'll get to try your hand at gerrymandering, to see if you can do better than your classmates at getting more seats for your party.

Z11763: Law in Classical Athens Full!
Difficulty: *
Teachers: May Tomic

The Ancient Greeks loved their laws! They wrote comedies and tragedies about suing each other, selected hundreds of jurors to hear court cases each day, and sometimes fled the country mid-speech if their case wasn't going well. This course will cover some of the strangest and most important court cases in the history of law!

Z11755: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room or: Introduction to Social Dynamics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Riley Drake

Navigating a crowded party is like traversing a minefield. Engineering is about iteration, but in social engineering, you only have one shot to get it right. Learn how to get the conversations you need, use the conversations you have and hack any situation.

Results not guaranteed. Always add water.

Z11531: All the World's a Game: Game Theory in International Relations
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Marianne Olsen

Game theory tries to predict the choices that perfectly rational decision-makers make in given situations. We'll go over some basic two-player games and discuss how we can apply these theories to the interactions between countries!


Prerequisites
If you already know how to maximize utility of a prisoner's dilemma, the game theory aspect of the class may be too basic for you.

Z11551: Let's talk about Watergate
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Marcus Boorstin

Let's talk about Watergate - what actually happened (people broke into DNC headquarters), what people think happened (Rose Mary Woods erased some tapes?), and what probably didn't happen (aliens did everything?). Bring questions and conspiracy theories!

Z11950: Introduction to Positive Disintegration - Part 1
Difficulty: ***

Dr. Kazimierz Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration (TPD) provides a lot of explanations for why some of us feel as if we fit into this world so poorly.

In this session, we will explore the basics of TPD, including OverExcitabilities, Dynamisms, and Levels of Development of personality.

So, if you are looking for alternate explanations for why some things bother you far more than they bother most folks, join us!

Z11654: Game Theory in Movies
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Arda Gitmez

This is an introductory Game Theory course, with demonstrations of concepts via examples taken from movies (The Dark Knight, Dr. Strangelove, The Good the Bad and the Ugly are some of the stuff we will cover.) Take this if you want to learn/casually discuss about Dominant Strategies, Nash Equilibrium or Subgame Perfection... Or if you want to learn what Joker had in mind when he set the bombs!


Prerequisites
A little bit of math, and willingness for analytical thinking. Preferably some interest in movies!

Z11895: A Brief Introduction to Disability Rights Activism (and Theory on the Side)
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Lydia Brown

What is disability? Who counts as disabled? How do we -- or should we or can we -- think about disability and bodily/mental difference in society? Whose bodies or brains are considered "healthy" or "normal" and whose are considered "sick," "disordered," or "abnormal" -- and why?

In this course, we will explore the concept of different types of disability -- cognitive, physical, mental, sensory, and otherwise. We will grapple with difficult, complicated questions as we move from "unsightly beggars" and "mental defectives" to "sideshow freaks" and "telethon cripples," and all the way to today's radical disability justice activism and calls for crip culture. We'll discuss stigma and shame, as well as disability pride and empowerment. We'll cover topics as diverse as reproductive justice, white supremacy, Calvinist moral principles, bioethics, labor rights, mass incarceration, and sexual violence. You will learn about the longest occupation of a federal building in U.S. protest history, cultural communities you may have never known existed (Deaf culture, Autistic culture, Mad pride, Neuroqueer movement, etc.), and the faces of modern-day eugenics.

We will question societal expectations of "normal" and "healthy" bodies and minds, and examine the myriad possibilities for radically reconceptualizing disabled experiences as part of the human experience. We will discuss connections between disability activism and movements for labor justice, fat acceptance, feminism, queer and trans liberation, and racial justice. Don't worry if you don't know much -- this course is meant as an introduction!

By the end of the course, you won't be an expert on disability studies or the disability rights movement or disability cultural activism. You will, however, have both a broader and deeper understanding of an incredibly diverse and dynamic social justice movement, as well as the tools to more carefully analyze and respond to public discourse and popular ideas about disability and bodily/mental difference.

This course was originally taught in Summer HSSP 2015, so you will get a whole summer's worth of info crammed into just two hours! (If you took this class in HSSP, you should NOT sign up for this class.)


Prerequisites
An understanding and willingness to engage in some heavy topics especially about violence. I provide content notes/trigger warnings in advance of material likely to be particularly disturbing so students can make informed choices.

Z11710: Understanding Diplomacy through Wargaming

Much of historical European politics would have made more sense if you were there at the time. This class will give you a chance to recreate those politics. Take command of countries in a simple war game and learn about the balance of power by seeing it play out in action.
Adapted from game created by Daniel Whalen; run with permission.

Z12003: Assorted Topics in WWII
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Brandon Wang

Come learn about random topics in WWII!

Z11910: How To Fix The World (and why it's maybe harder than you thought)
Difficulty: **

Have you heard of international development? Are you passionate about helping to solve global problems like hunger, disease, natural disasters, or consequences of war? Do you want to learn more about what people are doing on the cutting-edge and what makes for a good solution?

Come join us to learn more about the joys of helping humanity, the problems people encounter when trying to do good things, and what you can do to be the change you wish to see in the world.

The first half will be spent on introducing you to the world of international development, and the second will be a workshop for developing your own ideas!


Prerequisites
Just a heart.

Z11784: Romantically Ambiguous Behavior
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Lawrence Lai

This course discusses types of behavior that people may find ambiguous in the social context.

What does it mean when a man asks a woman to go to coffee or to workout together?

What does it mean when two individuals of opposite gender exchange contact information on Facebook/Snapchat/Phone Numbers/E-mails, etc.?

What even classifies as a date?

This course will survey the class anonymously and let students read out each others opinion, to get a better understanding of what peers expect.

If time allows, I can also go through a little bit of the psychology of why people think this way, and the philosophy of whether people should think this way.

Z11883: How to Win an Argument
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Jonathan Haber

Whether you're debating politics with a friend, posting a comment online, writing a persuasive essay for school or just negotiating what to do for the weekend, you are actually engaging in argumentation. But are you doing it well or successfully? This class will teach you the basics of argumentation, allowing you to convince, persuade and thrive in a world full of (constructive) arguments.


Prerequisites
None

Z11956: Subways of the World Full!
Difficulty: *

Calling all subway fans! Come chat about mass transit with us! Potential topics include: second avenue subway, mini metro, new subway systems in the world and more. All aboard!

Z11690: Stop, Drop, and Explore
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Sarah Weidman

Have you ever dreamed of dropping all of your commitments, grabbing a suitcase, and exploring the world? Do you wish you could discover a place that no one has ever been before? In this class, we will learn about the people in history who took on the most daring expeditions and discovered the most extraordinary places. Some of these adventures were successful, but some were not. We'll explore the reasons for their successes and find out why they failed. Maybe by the end of the class, you will have the tools to complete your own successful expedition.

Z11851: Unconventional American History
Difficulty: *
Teachers: Clio Macrakis

Have you heard about the Founding Fathers about a million times by now? Memorized the U.S. Presidents in order and all the states and capitals? In this class we're going to ignore conventionally-taught history and explore other ways of understanding culture. We will mostly be covering the past three decades, and I hope you continue your search of unconventional history to long before that to suit your interests!

Z11905: Lobbying and Advocacy to Change the World
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Brock Adler

Is there a cause you are passionate about? Would changing laws or regulations, or having new government funding for your area of interest be useful? By joining together and advocating and/or lobbying with others, you can work towards accomplishing your personal, community, and societal goals. This session will give you (and your collaborators) a great start at being able to plan and carry out campaigns to create or change laws that you feel will improve things. You will learn about strategies and tactics applicable to a variety of different kinds of causes. I will use as an example an effort I have been working on for a few years, to add environmental education language to the Every Student Succeeds Act (the education bill that replaced No Child Left Behind), but the lessons presented will be applicable to a wide variety of other issues and levels of government. We will spend much of the time helping you think about how to advance your causes or projects.


Prerequisites
Do some thinking about what cause you are passionate about; have a basic understanding about how laws are passed https://kids-clerk.house.gov/high-school/lesson.html?intID=17; and if you have time, find out who your Congressional Representatives are at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov, and look on their websites to find which committees they sit on.

Z11962: Democracy, Backwards
Difficulty: **
Teachers: David Mazumder

What happens to democracy when politicians get to pick their voters instead of the other way around? We will learn about why legislatures would gerrymander a district, what goes into the process, and how to do it yourself through interactive, realistic examples. We will also explore gerrymandering's effects, its current challenges, and some of the statistical methods available for pinning down what counts as a gerrymandered state, as well as what you can do about it!


Prerequisites
Interest in US politics!

Z11765: Introduction to Dolphin Training
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Tyler Lerner

In 1965, a dolphin named Tuffy was used to deliver messages and supplies to an underwater research lab in the pacific ocean. Ever since then, specially trained dolphins have played a critical role in our military. We will discuss what they do, and how they do it, but more importantly, we'll talk about how their human coworkers train them. Learn how to earn the cooperation of a dolphin (or any other animal for that matter), starting from the basic theories of classical and operant conditioning, and then have a go at some of the training methods used by the Navy, zoos, and aquariums around the world.

Note: People will be used instead of dolphins for these exercises, unless any students in the class are able to bring in a dolphin. In which case we may have some questions for you.

Z11931: Navigating Politics
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Richard Barone

Discover your political beliefs and how to exercise them! We'll be considering all the hard social questions and why your opinion matters. To do so, we'll consider some historical happenings and the current political mayhem. This will be a great introduction to politics for those taking or planning to take AP United States Government or a similar class. Please bring a smart phone or laptop.

Z11902: Healthcare: Abroad and at Home
Difficulty: **

A brief look at the U.S. healthcare system (including its hot discussion in our government) and healthcare in other countries, presented by the GlobeMed @ MIT's GHU Co-Directors.

Z11875: Storytelling for Social Change
Difficulty: *

In this class, we ask three simple questions:
1. Who am I? (Story of Self)
2. Who are we? (Story of Us)
3. What do we want to change in the world today? (Story of Now)

Storytelling for social change is based on the "Public Narrative" framework, which has been used by organizers and activists around the world to inspire others to action through sharing powerful stories about our values and our histories.

In this class, we will coach you on how to craft and tell your story to empower your friends, family, and community to act on an issue you care about (like fighting climate change or poverty)!

An example of public narrative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3avJucRbUd0

Z11970: Positive Disintegration - Taking the Theory Further
Difficulty: ***

This is a course for students who have taken the Introduction to Positive Disintegration course whether this year or a previous one,, or those with familiarity with Kazimierz Dabrowski's work from other sources.

It is *not* for beginners!


Prerequisites
Familiarity with Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration beyond overexcitabilities.

Z11927: Memes: A People's History
Difficulty: **

Memes are dead; if memes are dead, everything is permitted. We must ascend higher, towards the freedom of post-irony. There we shall be unleashed from the limits of the meme-structure-format and the need for ironic distance between subject and object that stems from the same distance demanded of the artist from his meme. We will be free to say what we want and it would be just as dank as if it were behind 7 layers of irony.

Z11894: Everything You Need to Know About Prisons in the U.S.
Difficulty: ***
Teachers: Lydia Brown

Where do prisons come from? What are the purposes of prisons? Do they really hold up to those ideals? What is prison privatization? What are mass incarceration and the prison-industrial complex and why should you care? We're fascinated with shows like Oz, Prison Break, and Orange is the New Black, but what do we really know about how prisons work in society, who is imprisoned, and where our system fails?

Come to learn about the history of prisons and incarceration in the United States, how our criminal justice system stacks up against others internationally, and what current pressing issues we are now grappling with as a society. We will talk about the role of incarceration in institutional/structural racism, classism, and ableism (don't worry; we'll discuss those terms!) and the connections between prison abolition work and the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the psychological effects of solitary confinement, legal issues surrounding indigent (public) defense and access to counsel, and the ethics of alternatives to imprisonment.


Prerequisites
An understanding and willingness to engage in some heavy topics especially about violence and anti-Black racism. Class will likely get into detail about slavery, police brutality, and abusive conditions of confinement.

Z11705: How to Buy the US Government for $30
Difficulty: **

Zimbabwe’s net worth is currently about 300 dollars, but in this talk, we explore whether you can buy the US government for even less. We discuss the intersection of public policy and private money, including lobbying, campaign finance laws, conflicts of interest, and the revolving door. Join us to learn about how you too one day can own the free world!

Z12018: Sports and Gender: A Case Study in Science and Policy
Difficulty: **
Teachers: Casey Evans

This discussion based course will open with a brief introduction to policy analysis. Topics will include modern frameworks for identifying and addressing market failures and knowledge assessment issues in policy considerations. The class will then use these frameworks to propose and discuss policies in sports and gender. Positions of major theorists will be introduced according to the flow of discussion. Possible discussion topics include: Should the pay gap between male and female athletes be regulated? How do national sports organizations decide which events to advertise? Could advertising policy be used to redistribute viewership? Does Title IX encourage schools to set up “cheap” sports for women’s teams? How are sex and gender defined scientifically versus socially and on which definition should policy rest? Is there a fundamental failure in sports policy by using binary standards to divide competition? Are there any limitations in our ability to scientifically inform decisions on how competitive sports divisions should be established? How can rational minds differ? How can we reconcile those differences?


Prerequisites
None. Some economics background would be useful.