Art can be found in everything, even ordinary objects. Artist David Huffman finds that abstraction is a great way to delve into the meaning and symbolism of everyday objects, like a basketball or a shoe. Find your own inspiration and create some abstract art -- it might have more meaning than you might think!

This course provides a deep understanding of engineering systems at a level intended for research on complex engineering systems. It provides a review and extension of what is known about system architecture and complexity from a theoretical point of view while examining the origins of and recent developments in the field. The class considers how and where the theory has been applied, and uses key analytical methods proposed. Students examine the level of observational (qualitative and quantitative) understanding necessary for successful use of the theoretical framework for a specific engineering system. Case studies apply the theory and principles to engineering systems.

In the computer-based Ancient Civilizations activity, students create their own civilization and see how it fares over the years based on choices they make for location, animals, plants and materials. Students trade resources between their civilizations, repeatedly go to war with unnamed enemies, and learn some fun facts about real-world ancient civilizations along the way. This activity was inspired by Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.

In the paper-based Ancient Civilizations activity, students create their own civilization and see how it fares over the years based on choices they make for location, animals, plants and natural resources. Students create an artistic rendering of their civilization, trade resources between their civilizations and go to war with an unnamed enemy. This activity was inspired by Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.

In this book, Sanjoy Mahajan shows us that the way to master complexity is through insight rather than precision. Precision can overwhelm us with information, whereas insight connects seemingly disparate pieces of information into a simple picture. Unlike computers, humans depend on insight. Based on the author’s fifteen years of teaching at MIT, Cambridge University, and Olin College, The Art of Insight in Science and Engineering shows us how to build insight and find understanding, giving readers tools to help them solve any problem in science and engineering. (Description courtesy of MIT Press.)

In the Body System Amusement Parks project, students team up to create amusement parks based on the various systems and organs within the human body. With the power of abstraction, each attraction represents the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, the digestive system, etc. Teams create both 3D scale models and presentations to an unnamed wealthy investment firm looking to build a new park in the students’ very own town. This activity was heavily inspired by a post from Danielle Dace.

In the Body System Amusement Parks project, students team up to create amusement parks based on the various systems and organs within the human body. With the power of abstraction, each attraction represents the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, the digestive system, etc. Teams create both 3D scale models and presentations to an unnamed wealthy investment firm looking to build a new park in the students’ very own town. This activity was heavily inspired by a post from Danielle Dace.

In the Body System Amusement Parks project, students team up to create amusement parks based on the various systems and organs within the human body. With the power of abstraction, each attraction represents the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, the digestive system, etc. Teams create both 3D scale models and presentations to an unnamed wealthy investment firm looking to build a new park in the students’ very own town. This activity was heavily inspired by a post from Danielle Dace.

In the Body System Amusement Parks project, students team up to create amusement parks based on the various systems and organs within the human body. With the power of abstraction, each attraction represents the cardiovascular system, the muscular system, the digestive system, etc. Teams create both 3D scale models and presentations to an unnamed wealthy investment firm looking to build a new park in the students’ very own town. This activity was heavily inspired by a post from Danielle Dace.

This course is a fast-paced introduction to the C and C++ programming languages, with an emphasis on good programming practices and how to be an effective programmer in these languages. Topics include object-oriented programming, memory management, advantages of C and C++, optimization, and others. Students are given weekly coding assignments and a final project to hone their skills. Recommended for programmers with some background and experience in other languages.
This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

This course introduces students to the world of French photography from its invention in the 1820s to the present. It provides exposure to major photographers and images of the French tradition, and encourages students to explore the social and cultural roles and meanings of photographs. Designed to help students navigate their own photo-saturated worlds, it also provides opportunity to gain practical experience in photography. Taught in English.

This book is designed for the transition course between calculus and differential equations and the upper division mathematics courses with an emphasis on proof and abstraction. The book has been used by the author and several other faculty at Southern Connecticut State University. There are nine chapters and more than enough material for a semester course. Student reviews are favorable.

It is written in an informal, conversational style with a large number of interesting examples and exercises, so that a student learns to write proofs while working on engaging problems.

Ever hang your head in shame after your Python program wasn’t as fast as your friend’s C program? Ever wish you could use objects without having to use Java? Join us for this fun introduction to C and C++! We will take you through a tour that will start with writing simple C programs, go deep into the caves of C memory manipulation, resurface with an introduction to using C++ classes, dive deeper into advanced C++ class use and the C++ Standard Template Libraries. We’ll wrap up by teaching you some tricks of the trade that you may need for tech interviews.
We see this as a “C/C++ empowerment” course: we want you to come away understanding

why you would want to use C over another language (control over memory, probably for performance reasons),
why you would want to use C++ rather than C (objects), and
how to be useful in C and C++.

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

6.0001 Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is intended for students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems and to help students, regardless of their major, feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class uses the Python 3.5 programming language.

This course introduces students to the principles of computation. Upon completion of 6.001, students should be able to explain and apply the basic methods from programming languages to analyze computational systems, and to generate computational solutions to abstract problems. Substantial weekly programming assignments are an integral part of the course. This course is worth 4 Engineering Design Points.