User:Almonds

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Hello! I am a HUNAM from EARTH (just like you).

For my email or phone number, Steam, Reddit, or Discord usernames, or life story, feel free to ask me in person.

This page was last updated in the 21st century.


About me

Lovely human being
Room W303
Year Spring 2020
Major Electrical engineering & computer science (6-2)
Minor Brain & cognitive sciences (9)
HASS concentration Archaeology and archaeological science
MEng Spring 2021
  • Hobbies? Being with friends, writing stories, complaining about bureaucracy, playing video games, creating video games.
  • What games? Couch co-op, horror, Pokémon, Minecraft, really old games.
  • Comms? I have been a part of AVComm, KitchenComm, Fruit Comm, and MovieComm.
  • Favorite foods? Steak.
  • Favorite music? Trap, hardstyle, heavy metal, happy hardcore, nightcore, EDM, or really anything so long as it Sounds Good™.
  • Want to hear a joke?
    Why did the man fall into the well?
    -- Because he could not see that well
  • Have more questions? Talk with me, I'm usually at Floor Pi.
  • Have too few questions? See here.

Roles on hall

Hall chair tray table

Main articles: Hall Chair and Hall Government#Job Description

Elected for the 2019-2020 year. Feel free to talk with me or Julian for reimbursements, if something on hall is broken, for hall conflict, if you wonder how floorpi or EC operate...

Pleasure Educator

Pleasure is a student-led group at MIT; our goal is to reduce sexual violence and to promote healthy relationships at MIT.

If you ever find yourself needing to share something deeply personal, then talking with me is an option. I can listen, I can provide resources for building a support system, and I can help you work with those resources. I am trained for these situations.

(Note: Sometimes people don't want to share such personal information with their peers; sometimes they would like to speak to someone new. That's totally valid. In such a case, see here (will eventually get to finishing it... (09/18/2019)).)

I can also talk in depth about:

  • sex,
  • the many birth controls,
  • health concerns,
  • relationships (workplace, platonic, romantic, sexual, ...),
  • identities (gender, sexual attraction, race, class, ...),
  • the many resources at MIT

PLEASURE is actually an acronym, it stands for Peers Leading Education About Sexuality and speaking Up for Relationship Empowerment .

Not a MedLink

Disclaimer: I am not a MedLink.

MedLinks are trained in MIT Medical resources, procedures, and policies, in when to seek medical attention, and in how to treat common aches, pains, cold & flu. Please take the time to peruse their kits. Dani is floorpi's MedLink.

Sometimes the MedLink isn't on hall. In that case, you should email out to the ec hugs and drugs mailing list. EC has so many MedLinks.

All this said, I have a lot of first-hand experience with MIT Medical and MIT Mental Health & Counseling, and I am confident in explaining how the two work. I also have first-hand experience with medical resources outside MIT, namely, Boston Medical Center, Mass General Hospital, and Mt Auburn Hospital. Talk to me about insurance, like, what a copay or prior authorization is, or what "in network" and "PPO" means, or the difference between the insurance plans MIT offers its students.

Like a MedLink, I also have items I'm willing to share with my floormates. Ye be warned, however, unlike the average MedLink, in exchange for use of some of the items below, I will likely heckle you about methods to solving your issues that are etiologic rather than symptomatic. For a taste of that: if I was asked for melatonin, I would quite likely talk in-depth about the importance of sleep hygiene with respect to the ever-developing brain and lecture you on the pharmacodynamics of melatonin & the natural mechanisms the brain utilizes to produce its own melatonin.

Item AKA Form Suggested use
Cetirizine Zyrtec 10mg tablets Long-term allergy relief
Loratadine Claritin 10mg tablets Long-term allergy relief
Diphenhydramine Benadryl 25mg tablets Acute allergy relief
Diphenhydramine Benadryl 2% cream Acute relief for inflammation or itching
Isopropyl alcohol 70% Disinfectant
Hydrogen peroxide 5% Disinfectant, mouthwash
Vitamin D D3 in MCT oil Acutely fix dead metabolism
Calcium carbonate antacids 1000mg tablets Symptomatic treatment of heartburn or indigestion
Vick's VapoRub Cough or congestion suppressant
Aloe vera gel Aids in healing sunburns or mild burns
Sharps container Safe disposal of sharps
Condoms Various OwO
Lube Silicone-based OwO

Reminder, Dani is canonically the MedLink.

Also, friendly reminder that all MIT students are fully covered for Mental Health & Couseling.


My Courseroad

Undergrad

Prior credit

  • 6.0001 Intro to CS programming in Python (ASE)
  • 18.01 Calculus (AP credit)

Freshman year

Fall
  • 3.091 (Grossman) Intro to solid-state chemistry
  • 8.01 Physics I
  • 18.022 Multidimensional vector calculus
  • 21W.031 Science writing & new media
  • 12.000 Solving complex problems

3.091 was my favorite subject for freshman year. Unless you're thinking of being a course 5 or 10, I recommend it over 5.111. 8.01 -- hey, that's pretty good. Unless you want to be a course 18, there isn't really reason to take 18.022 over 18.02. The p-sets are straightforward if you attend lecture and go along with the textbook, but they're tedious. 21W.031 is an excellent class that teaches you how to communicate science & technology. I took it because I didn't realize HASS classes that don't start with "21W" exist (same as 21W.747). That said, I recommend it; it prepared me for UROP, SuperUROP, 6.UAT, and surely will my thesis. 12.000, AKA, Terrascope, an excellent and supportive community. Highly recommend, although you're likely not a prefrosh so it's almost certainly too late to choose.

Spring
  • 1.016 Complex environmental issues
  • 7.014 Intro biology
  • 8.02 Physics II
  • 18.03 DiffyQ
  • 18.05 Intro to probability & statistics

1.016 -- just as for a UROP or thesis project -- if your project has a lot of setbacks, you're gonna have a bad time. It's up to you whether you'd like to continue your Terrascope Mission. As for 7.014, well, it's a GIR. My only complaint is that the professors focused a lot on carbohydrate metabolism and did not discuss a process more vital to mammals -- fatty acid metabolism. That said, I doubt anyone would share my complaint. Penny Chisholm co-taught the subject and discussed her fascinating research on and the importance of ocean microbes. On the topic of global warming, TL;DR we're screwed. 8.02 -- hey, that's pretty good. 18.03 is my favorite math class I've taken. I have a red passion for the exponential map. I took 18.05 because it satisfied my probability/statistics requirement. Sure, maybe I should have taken 6.008 or 6.041 instead, but I didn't know any better.

Summer
  • 3.UR UROP in Materials science & engineering

3.091 in the Fall got me interested in majoring and UROPing in course 3, which is what I declared at the end of freshman year.

Sophomore

Fall
  • 3.UR UROP in Materials science & engineering
  • 6.152[J] Micro/nano processing technology
  • 6.002 Circuits & electronics
  • 21W.747 Rhetoric

By this time, I've decided I'm a course 6. I ended up helping my graduate student by coding an algorithm that uses statistical and machine learning techniques anyway. I chose 6-2 for a few reasons, including that I was confused between the differences between 6-2 and 6-3. I'm more of a 6-2⅖ in the end.

A close friend recommended 6.152 and so I naively went for it. It's semiconductor fabrication, and I got to work in the Lincoln Lab among other neat places. I did impressive things, but it was a bit intense, and the lectures were monotone in a dark room. The hands-on labs are great, though. I would recommend it if you're more 6-2 than 6-3. The p-sets aren't difficult if you pay attention in lecture but they're tedious. 21W.747 was a lovely class taught by Steven Strang. If you are at all interested in circuits & electronics, I highly recommend 6.002. I took it the year it was first updated (among other changes, it previously did not have a lab component) with David Perreault. 10/10.

Spring
  • 3.987 Human evolution
  • 6.003 Signals & systems
  • 9.00 Intro to psychological science
  • Lab assistant for 6.002

I didn't take any HASS classes in freshman Spring, so I decided to take two this semester. I wanted to take 3.987 last semester but it's only offered in the Spring. Max Price is an intelligent and friendly guy. I hope my passion for waterside hypotheses of human evolution have made their way into the curriculum 👀. 9.00 is a classic. 6.003 is the only class I've gotten a "B" in. There are several classes I've felt I've deserved a "B" in instead of an "A", but this class in particular, I feel I deserve an "A". The labs were long and the checkoff queues longer. Yes, I'm salty. Perfect 5/7. Highly recommend.

Summer

I worked on personal projects back home in California. I might write more here later.

Junior

Fall
  • 6.034 Artificial intelligence (taught by Patrick Winston)
  • 6.036 Machine learning
  • 6.S081 Human computational intelligence
  • 6.801 Machine vision
  • 9.85 Infant & early childhood cognition

Instead of 6.S081, I actually wanted to take 21M.361 Electronic Music Composition I. I attended their final project concert the previous semester and was inspired. (1), I'm a fan of electronic music and would like to have a taste of producing it professionally, and (2), it's already my Junior year and I still need to satisfy the HASS-A requirement. Sadly, it didn't fit my schedule. So instead, I signed up for 21M.080 Introduction to Music Technology, a brand new HASS-A subject at the time, teaching material similar to 21M.361. I was kicked out due to over-enrollment. I had to push my HASS-A to my senior year. I took 6.S081 instead, a rewarding class with Bob Berwick, which, by petition, helped partially satisfy my major's AUS2 requirement. I'm still salty though.

I also recommend 6.034. The grad students running behind the scenes put love into that class. Sadly, Patrick Winston doesn't lead the class anymore, as he has passed away.

For Splash, I co-taught a class on chocolate science & truffle making.

I decided to minor in BCS, since I'm interested in BCS, I've already taken a few of the required classes, and CS and BCS make a great pair.

IAP

I also signed up for 6.S097 Introduction to Julia (the programming language), as I had heard about it from Deniz Yuret's talk on Knet in 6.034. By email, I was told to drop the class for going over a credit limit of 12 units. I immediately asked if it could be changed to listener status and did not hear a response until after 6.S097 was over, so I never attended any of their classes. (You can in fact take a class as listener during IAP without setting off this credit limit warning.) I'm salty.

I also participated in a student-led American Sign Language course. I appreciate learning, in addition to the language, about the history, the social conditions (i.e. in hospitals, stigma of cochlear implants), and the culture.

Spring
  • 6.08 Intro to EECS via interconnected embedded systems
  • 6.UAT Oral communication in EECS
  • 3.094 Materials in human experience
  • 3.985 Archaeological science
  • Lab assistant for 6.002

6.08? An Introductory EECS subject? Finally! I've been wanting to take 6.08 as my Introductory EECS subject since sophomore year, but it never fit my schedule! Due to this, this class was the most forgiving I've ever had. I am a big fan of the Internet of Things. 6.002 is a good continuation of 6.08.

My freshman year, there was a HASS concentration in BCS; now all evidence of it seems to have disappeared. I had to shift gears this semester and choose to concentrate in archaeology, since it interests me and I've already taken 3.987. I had to squash so many of my precious course 9 subjects into next year and take three more HASS classes than planned. Yes, I'm salty.

Summer
  • UROP in 6-2.

I worked with Joe Steinmeyer to create a microcontroller graphic interface for students, researchers, or really anyone who uses microcontrollers -- https://github.com/almonds0166/6302view/

Senior

Fall
  • 9.01 Intro to neuroscience
  • 9.021[J] Cellular neurophysiology and computing
  • 9.66 Computational Cognitive Science
  • 3.986 Intro to archaeology
  • 6.UAR SuperUROP
  • CMS.307 Critical Worldbuilding
  • 6.034 Artificial intelligence (listener status)
  • 6.035 Computer language engineering (listener status)

I wanted to take 9.46 because I've enjoyed the prereq for it (9.85), but it conflicted with 9.021, whose schedule is determined by the course 6 department. I need to take 9.021 because it satisfies requirements for both my major and my minor. As a backup, I wanted to take 9.49 because it is a new class that aligns with my interests, but it conflicts with that course 3 subject, which is a requirement for my HASS concentration.

CMS.307 is the HASS-A that fits my schedule. The wait list was five times the capacity of the class, but magically I was accepted in. Worldbuilding is quite literally the creative process of building an imaginary world.

I'm taking 6.034 as listener because it was such a lovely class, that I want to be able to attend the lectures (legally) and to maybe help out on the Piazza.

I'm interested in programming languages, so I'm taking 6.035 as listener. One thing I didn't know was that it's really a project-based class, so participation is a significant component. The final project is making a decent compiler.

Tau Beta Pi reached out to me the beginning of this semester offering me membership.

But they have additional requirements they tell me I need to complete in this semester:

  • Committee application (~1 hr)
  • Personal essay (~500 words, ~1 hr), respond to one of the following:
    • Write about a time that you faced a moral dilemma and what you did. Please don't write superficially on this -- talk about the particular dilemma, but also include more substance such as background, context, and consequences.
    • Write about the most unforgettable experience you've ever had.
    • Write about how you want to impact the community, and what legacy you wish to leave behind.
  • $60
  • 2 community service events (2 days)
  • 2 social events (2 days)
  • Fulfill committee requirement (~2 hr/wk), by taking lead in one of the following committees:
    • Tutoring committee (meet with students weekly; host small group review sessions near midterms/finals)
    • Community service committee (organize and lead community service events)
    • TBP Fellowships committee (publicize and coordinate TBP by distributing posters, organizing info sessions, reviewing applications, attending interviews, ...)
    • DaVinci lecture committee (recruit an audience of at least ~25, provide dinner, get a Lecture Coordinator to carry out a DaVinci lecture)
    • xFair committee (corporate relations, run the fair)
  • Volunteer with xFair (~1 day)
  • Recommendation letter (a quick email)

I must say, ironically, juggling those requirements would hinder my ability to confer honor upon my Alma Mater and participate in my community as an engineer and MIT student. I'm pretty booked this semester. However, if I am offered the membership again next year, I might go for it.

Spring

I will probably be taking a strict subset of the following with a cardinality of 5:

  • 9.40 Intro to neural computation
  • 6.UAR SuperUROP
  • 6.006 Intro to Algorithms
  • 18.04 Complex Variables with Applications
  • 18.330 Intro to Numerical Analysis
  • 18.781 Theory of Numbers
  • 18.06 Linear algebra

Grad

I've decided to MEng in 6-2, focusing on the topic of Artificial Intelligence or BioEECS or Graphics and Human-Computer Interfaces, in a fifth year at MIT.

I forget what specific class numbers I put on my application, hence the blank sections below.

1st year

Fall
  • 6.THM
  • 6.811?
IAP
  •  ???
Spring
  • 6.THM

Extra curriculars

  • I'm in the avionics sub-team of Rocket Team. We do Cool Things™, namely launch rockets. Avionics deals with the electronics of the aircraft -- communication with ground, parachute control, camera control, data collection. It's like the central nervous system of the rocket.
  • Pleasure education, as I mentioned above.

Personal projects

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