ESP Biography



BRIAN CHEN, MIT masters student. CS, math, puzzles




Major: 18, 6-3

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: G

Picture of Brian Chen

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm an MIT masters student who loves math, computer science, and puzzles. I also like singing in the shower.



Past Classes

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

W13912: Scale Mail in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
Make cool things with scales and rings!


C13913: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS in Spark 2020 (Mar. 14 - 15, 2020)
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.


W13275: Scale Mail in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
Make cool things with scales and rings!


C13278: How to Not Get Pwned in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
The internet is a wonderful place, but also a place full of dangers. Learn how to use a computer and browse the internet without getting hax0red (or at least, make it much less likely). We'll talk about basic internet security, phishing, social engineering, password security, and anything else we have time for. Warning: may induce paranoia around computers.


W13680: Not Ruby Red Appreciation in Splash 2019 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2019)
ESP loves to drink juice. Come learn to appreciate the best juice: not Ocean Spray Ruby Red!


X12779: How to Run a Spark! in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Ever thought about what happens behind-the-scenes when you sign up for Spark classes? Or how all of our teachers and classes fit into MIT's classrooms? Spark takes months to plan, and for good reason. Come learn how we make Spark happen every year!


C13030: Computational Music Theory in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
How does hitting a key on a piano produce air pressure waves? How are these waves interpreted by the ear as music? How can computers generate and understand these musical signals? Come learn the foundations of music from a computational perspective, and experiment to produce your own computer-assisted music compositions!


W13056: Scale Mail in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Make cool things with scales and rings!


W13058: Appreciation for any juice that is not Ruby Red in Spark 2019 (Mar. 16 - 17, 2019)
Ruby Red is not good. Any other juice is acceptable. Come appreciate all the different kinds of juice that are consumable and vote on which ones are the best!


X12504: Introduction to Puzzlehunts in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Do you like word games? Logic puzzles? Creative problem solving? Join us to learn about puzzlehunts, a fun style of puzzles and puzzle events blending all of these types and more, and try your hand at solving some puzzles!


A12678: Introduction to Typography in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
Typography is the art of type: making text readable and appealing. Come learn about how it works and how to make your own text prettier — be it web pages, résumés, or course descriptions.


C12679: How to Not Get Pwned in Splash 2018 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2018)
The internet is a wonderful place, but also a place full of dangers. Learn how to use a computer and browse the internet without getting hax0red (or at least, make it much less likely). We'll talk about basic internet security, phishing, social engineering, password security, and anything else we have time for. Warning: may induce paranoia around computers.


C12059: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
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.


X12236: How to Run a Spark! in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
Ever thought about what happens behind-the-scenes when you sign up for Spark classes? Or how all of our teachers and classes fit into MIT's classrooms? Spark takes months to plan, and for good reason. Come learn how we make Spark happen every year!


C12244: Introduction to HTML and CSS in Spark 2018 (Mar. 17 - 18, 2018)
The Internet has become so ubiquitous in our lives. Come learn about HTML and CSS, the languages that give our favorite websites structure and styling. We will learn how to make a simple website page and make it pretty.


C11644: Enumerative Combinatorics with Haskell in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
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.<


C11645: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
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.


C11647: Passwords in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
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.


M11648: On "Finite Simple Group (Of Order Two)" in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)
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.


C11206: How to Make the Perfect Button with CSS in Spark 2017 (Mar. 11 - 12, 2017)
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.


A10578: Improv Games in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
Let's play improv games together! From freeze to taxi to zip-zap-zop, it'll be lots of fun. No experience required.


C10709: Enumerative Combinatorics with Haskell in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
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.


X10732: Introduction to Puzzlehunts in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
Do you like word games? Logic puzzles? Creative problem solving? Join us to learn about puzzlehunts, a fun style of puzzles and puzzle events blending all of these types and more, and try your hand at solving some puzzles!


S10858: Designing Intelligence in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
With over 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion connections, the human brain is amazingly complex. Yet, scientists have nevertheless started to uncover what makes humans so intelligent.. In this class, we'll talk about how to translate concepts from neuroscience into abstract parts, and discuss how to assemble these parts into intelligent systems that can solve real world problems, such as driving a car. Bring a problem you find interesting! Perhaps you'll discover a new way to solve it! Keywords: Deep Learning, Visual Cortex, Reinforcement Learning, Recurrent Neural Networks.


C11113: Python Bee! in Splash 2016 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2016)
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 of 3 and type out Python challenges one character at a time, while learning some cool Python constructs. Good luck, and see you there!