ESP Biography



DAVID XIAO, ESP Teacher




Major: 6/18

College/Employer: MIT

Year of Graduation: 2014

Picture of David Xiao

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Not Available.



Past Classes

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

C7520: Make A Computer! (On Paper) in Splash! 2013 (Nov. 23 - 24, 2013)
1) Here's a transistor. 2) Take this class. 3) ??? 4) Computer! This class will take you through the basics of what makes a computer work, from the transistor level all the way up to putting it together into a basic processor. Learn what it takes an MIT class 2 months to cover in 3 hours!


C7049: Make A Computer! (On Paper) in Spark! 2013 (Mar. 16, 2013)
1) Here's a transistor. 2) Take this class. 3) ??? 4) Computer! This class will take you through the basics of what makes a computer work, from the transistor level all the way up to putting it together into a basic processor. Learn what it takes an MIT class 2 months to cover in 3 hours!


M6132: Exploring Linear Algebra Through Love in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
d/dt(<3) = ? eigen(<3) = ? My usual approach is useless here... Sheldon likes Amy, but Amy doesn't like Sheldon. Both Amy and Sheldon are romantics, but they don't know how to express their feelings to each other, and their efforts to help or hurt usually end up doing the opposite. What happens? In this class, we'll show you one way mathematics could predict Amy and Sheldon's future love (or loveless) life. Starting with basic calculus and ending with one of the most significant results of Linear Algebra, we'll give you a crash course in college math, and probably make some more couples predictions along the way.


C6696: Make A Computer! (On Paper) in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)
1) Here's a transistor. 2) Take this class. 3) ??? 4) Computer! This class will take you through the basics of what makes a computer work, from the transistor level all the way up to putting it together into a basic processor. Learn what it takes an MIT class 2 months to cover in 3 hours!


C5879: From Wire to Web: Digital Computer Networks in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)
This year, 2 billion people will transfer 950 exabytes (950 billion gigabytes, or about 150 DVD’s per person) of information through the internet. These bits will zip through hundreds of miles to get to their destination, in fractions of a second. And that’s just the internet. We’re not even talking about GPS, television, radio, phones, LAN parties, or the USB cables. Yet. This is a 2 hour crash course on how computers talk to each other. We’ll start with electrical impulses through a wire, through the World Wide Web, and if we have time, beyond. A little bit of theory, a touch of history, a cool demo or two, some math, and a dash of aloha.


C5882: Make a Computer! (On Paper) in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)
1) Here's a transistor. 2) Take this class. 3) ??? 4) Computer! This class will take you through the basics of what makes a computer work, from the transistor level all the way up to putting it together into a basic processor. Learn what it takes an MIT class 2 months to cover in 3 hours!


C5889: Intro to Machine Learning in Spark! 2012 (Mar. 10, 2012)
Ever wondered how Netflix creates personalized movies suggestions for each user? How Google finds similar websites? How anti-plagiarism software works? This class explains techniques that enable computers to draw conclusions from data and make predictions about what properties subsequently acquired data is likely to have. The class will cover both the mathematical background of machine learning and its practical implementation when tackling real-world problems.


H5369: History of Warfare through Board Games, Part 1 in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)
What does it mean to fight a war? 1000 years ago? 100 years ago? 10 years ago? Today? Do you enjoy board games? We'll introduce you to a few of our favorite strategy board games, let you play a round or two, and show you how these games mirror the evolution of warfare. From thousands of years ago to today, in every corner of the world. Part I of two parts.


C5374: From Wire to Web: Digital Computer Networks Explained in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)
This year, 2 billion people will transfer 950 exabytes (950 billion gigabytes, or about 150 DVD's per person) of information through the internet. These bits will zip through hundreds of miles to get to their destination, in fractions of a second. And that's just the internet. We're not even talking about GPS, television, radio, phones, LAN parties, or the USB cables. Yet. This is a 2 hour crash course on how computers talk to each other. We'll start with electrical impulses through a wire, through the World Wide Web, and if we have time, beyond. A little bit of theory, a touch of history, a cool demo or two, some math, and a dash of hawaii.


H5382: History of Warfare through Board Games, Part 2 in Splash! 2011 (Nov. 19 - 20, 2011)
What does it mean to fight a war? 1000 years ago? 100 years ago? 10 years ago? Today? Do you enjoy board games? We’ll introduce you to a few of our favorite strategy board games, let you play a round or two, and show you how these games mirror the evolution of warfare. From thousands of years ago to today, in every corner of the world. Part two of two.


M4628: Proofs from THE BOOK in Spark! 2011 (Mar. 12, 2011)
"Oh one more thing. Euler, when he died, he simply collapsed and said ‘I am finished’, and when I told this story somebody callously remarked ‘ well another conjecture of Euler was proven true!’ —Paul Erdos. An exploration of the some of the most elegant proofs in mathematics (and some humorous historical background.)


S3913: The Science Behind XKCD in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)
Has an XKCD comic ever confused you? In this class, we'll go over XKCD comics and discover the science behind!


S4041: Physics Problem Solving in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)
The class will discuss selected physics problems and problem solving strategies, focusing on the style of mathematics used in physics problems. Especially stressed will be the use of the binomial theorem in making rigorous approximations. Problems will be taken from David Morin, An Introduction to Classical Mechanics.


M4042: No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die: Coordinate Substitution in a Centrifuge in Splash! 2010 (Nov. 20 - 21, 2010)
The famous line from http://xkcd.com/123/ discusses "Coordinate Substitution" by "Constructing Newton's laws in a rotation system" with the result that the centrifugal force appears "plain as day". We will do as Dr. No (the bad guy with the lever) suggests and see that the non-existence of centrifugal force is, in fact, a myth perpetrated by overzealous physics teachers.