Sights and Sounds

Sights and Sounds Some weeks ago, Jeanne 13 and I embarked upon yet another of our voyages into Boston, meandering past our usual destinations and toward the Boston Symphony Hall, where we hoped to pick up Boston Symphony Orchestra college cards. I havent actually had the chance to use mine yet, but at the time, the sole thought running through my head was, Hey, this is free. Wait, its free?! Im getting one ASAP. And thus, it was decided that I would sacrifice an afternoon nap for a one-mile walk across the Harvard Bridge and into one of most famous orchestra halls in the world. This trek was made more memorable by the following episode: (Jeanne and I spot a group of girls clustered together, gossiping happily, oblivious to our presence) Jeanne: Look at them! Theyre always clumped together. TheyreLIKE PLATELETS. Me: *Silently ponders this extraordinary bout of nerdiness, starts laughing* (A minute or so later: we walk through a narrow passageway) Jeanne: Whoa! Now its like were walking through a BLOOD VESSEL! Me: *Wonder, disbelief, further laughter* These soundbites are so normal here at MIT. Biology, Harry Potter, derivatives, and vectors all merge themselves into casual conversations. What results is random but hugely entertaining discussion, during which I often wish my capacity to remember clever comments were more refined. Pictures make MITs sporadic wit much more memorable: The above sight met my eyes this past Tuesday night, as I walked in my physics classroom for a late-night review session. Somehow, I paid more attention to this than I did to polar coordinates and dot products; the pure unexpectedness of seeing moment of inertia linked to the Yankees tickled my sense of humor to no end. I believe my love for MIT, slightly ragged due to the endless wear of psets and midterms, was renewed the second I saw this picture. In chem class on Wednesday, this reborn enthusiasm was solidified with the sight of the following experiment, embedded here with permission from Professor Schrock: Im so glad I go to school here.