ESP Biography



ANDREI KLISHIN, MIT senior in Physics



Major: 8 Physics

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2015

Picture of Andrei Klishin

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I started college back in faraway country of Belarus before transferring to MIT in 2012. Here and there I've been doing physics for a while, been reasonably good at it and been reasonably bored with it. MIT showed me the beautiful side of humanities (ever heard of... anthropology?), while keeping me busy with more and more physics.
I love statistical physics and I love social theory. I believe that these two fields can be dramatically enriched by mutual entanglement., and that's what I want to do for life.
I believe that whatever you want to be doing in life, somebody has already tried it - but not necessarily found the optimal and best ways. I preach that to academic, career, social, scientific and personal problems there are systematic and critical approaches to be applied, and I practice what I preach.



Past Classes

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

Z8820: The elementary forms of religious life in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
Have you ever thought why people started to believe into supernatural forces? What caused them to regularly gather for religious celebrations? Following the footsteps of the father of sociology Emile Durkheim, we will discuss the reasons for emergence of most primitive religious beliefs, and whether the same logic applies to modern, much more sophisticated religions.


H8821: Pictogram introduction to philosophy of law in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
What is a just society? Oh, there are so many answers. Equality, freedom, greater good - where do these concepts start to contradict each other? Is it possible to build a justice system that is not self-contradictory? Yes, and even a few such systems, choose to your taste. This class provides an overview of three big schools of thought in political philosophy and a few dilemmas to which there are different answers. We will use pictograms and schemes to illustrate the difference of approaches.


S8833: How to fight your way through physics in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
You could have heard of streetfighting mathematics - quick calculations and estimates of numbers, all that. I want to tell you the techniques that physics uses instead. By the end of this class you will be able to rapid-prototype a physics theory. You will work with the widespread toolbox - dimensional and scaling analysis, symmetry considerations, deterministic and random descriptions and the like. You will learn how to pick from those tools, fit them together and quickly attack the physics system that you need to tackle.


S8834: What is life? A biophysics perspective in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
"What is life?" - asks a prominent physicist Erwin Schroedinger in his 1944 book. Together with him we are going to follow the logic of the emerging need for a memory device within the cells and try to figure out what system can be called alive at all. Jumping back to present time, we will find how DNA, RNA and proteins find their way around in the cell. We will resolve the paradox of why the cell structure is persistent, while entropy must grow according to thermodynamics. We will look at the modern, data-driven evolutionary theory that is aiding Grandpa Darwin with the contemporary biophysics machinery.


S8835: How to give a science talk in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)
You heard of the scientific method of producing knowledge - hypothesis, experiments and conclusions. But once you have done your research, you need to go through another indispensable step - telling others about your work. In this class you would learn how to structure, oppose and defend a scientific argument in a public presentation, as well as a few specific tricks to make your smart audience understand what you are talking about.


Z8397: The elementary forms of religious life in Spark 2014 (Mar. 15 - 16, 2014)
Have you ever thought why people started to believe into supernatural forces? What caused them to regularly gather for religious celebrations? Following the footsteps of the father of sociology Emile Durkheim we would discuss the reasons for emergence of most primitive religious beliefs, and whether the same logic applies to modern, much more sophisticated religions.


H8399: Pictogram introduction to philosophy of law in Spark 2014 (Mar. 15 - 16, 2014)
What is a just society? Oh, there are so many answers. Equality, freedom, greater good - where do these concepts start to contradict each other? Is it possible to build a justice system that is not self-contradictory? Yes, and even a few such systems, choose to your taste. This class provides an overview of three big schools of though in political philosophy and a few dilemmas to which there are different answers. We would use pictograms and schemes to illustrate the difference of approaches.


X8401: How to host in Spark 2014 (Mar. 15 - 16, 2014)
I like to have guests. I like to talk to people in my own private space. I believe in following the conversation dynamics and providing the appropriate complements. I want to teach you a few of my rules of thumb on how to behave yourself receiving guests, how to serve them and how to enjoy yourself doing that. Warning - this class involves consumption of delicious tea, chocolate and maybe cookies and cakes.


S7523: Physics Lightning Lectures! in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Ever wanted to learn why neutrinos pass right through us or about the curvature of spacetime? Were you ever curious about how we use atoms to do quantum computation? Learn all of it in our series of 5 minute in our lightning lectures on popular topics in physics!


W7524: Physics Demos - Fun with Liquid Nitrogen! in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Want to have some fun with ferrofluids, or shatter gummy bears and flowers? Come join us as we experiment! We'll be demonstrating these cool effects on a variety of objects.


Z7526: The elementary forms of religious life in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Have you ever thought why people started to believe into supernatural forces? What caused them to regularly gather for religious celebrations? Following the footsteps of the father of sociology Emile Durkheim we would discuss the reasons for emergence of most primitive religious beliefs, and whether the same logic applies to modern, much more sophisticated religions.


Z7527: Pictogram introduction to philosophy of law in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
What is a just society? Oh, there are so many answers. Equality, freedom, greater good - where do these concepts start to contradict each other? Is it possible to build a justice system that is not self-contradictory? Yes, and even a few such systems, choose to your taste. This class provides an overview of three big schools of though in political philosophy and a few dilemmas to which there are different answers. We would use pictograms and schemes to illustrate the difference of approaches.


S7528: Statistical physics of mini-canonical ensembles in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
Are mini-canonical ensembles even a thing? Actually, no, but there are plenty of others. Notion of statistical ensemble as a group of systems with some common properties allowed to greatly expand the workings of statistical physics. From centrifuges to atmospheric pressure, from polymer chains to Bose-Einstein condensation - all these phenomena deal with systems that can be in many states. Therefore, we can describe them with statistics. Therefore, we want to describe them with statistics!


S6363: Cool Topics in Modern Physics - Session 2 in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
This class will be a series of very short (7-8 min.) lightning lectures on various topics in modern physics, designed to give a conceptual overview of each topic and what is interesting and exciting about it. Session 2 will include topics like quantum mechanics, quantum computing/information, the measurement problem (what's still wrong with quantum mechanics), solid state physics, and statistical mechanics/thermodynamics.


W6387: Awesome Physics in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
Want to see what happens when you cool something over 300 degrees below the freezing point of water? Interested in seeing how you can use everyday household ingredients to create fluids that get thicker when you push on them? Stop by this walk-in activity for some fun with liquid nitrogen, non-Newtonian fluids, and more.


S6730: Extraordinary physics...ordinary things! in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
"Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so that each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry," said one of the greatest physicists of all time, Richard Feynman. I invite you to unravel a few of these mysteries for yourself. What does blotching ink on a spinning top have to do with atmospheric cyclones? How can a paint can illustrate submarine failure, and how can blowing into a straw determine how deep you can snorkel? How can you lose weight in a fraction of a second? Why do instruments sound different when they play the same exact pitch? Come and make Feynman proud by experiencing the pleasure of finding things out with do-it-yourself demos and theoretical discussion.