Back to Life, Back to Reality

Back to Life, Back to Reality Name the song I stole the lyrics from and win a cookie. So this week was pretty intense: 6.021J Quantitative Physiology I Cells and Tissues One 12 page lab report on the superposition of effects of chemoattractants in a microfluidic device 2 problem sets 2.005 Thermal-Fluids Engineering I 1 Problem Set 1 Exam involving problems dealing with greenhouses and solar panel production 2.002 Mechanics and Materials II 1 Problem Set 1 Exam involving problems on design optimization and NDE techniques 21F.703 Spanish III 1 Exam 1 Paper on El Espinazo del Diablo Needless to say with all those tests and psets, Im having a math overload similar to my organic chemistry overload last year. **FLASHBACK** Last spring, I took 5.12 (Organic Chemistry I). The night before the exam, I stayed up until 3 am studying. The next morning, I woke up having had the strangest dream of my life. Many will argue it was a nightmare. All of my friends were present in this dream. Except they werent normal. They were carbocations. Their hairstyles could be described as reaction-coordinate diagrams. Yes, thats what is called an organic chemistry overdose. **FAST FORWARD TO TIME PRESENT** So this week, it wasnt organic chemistry as much as just a lot of math, and not the friendly kind. Interestingly enough, a lot of the problems I worked on this week had real life applications. Last week, I had an interview where my interviewer argued that MIT students are way too theoretical. Heres my proof that were not. A Mathematical Interpretation that even George Foreman would appreciate: Also, in the world of math, while I was deriving the equations for the heat transfer into a greenhouse in my 2.005 exam, there was a lecture in New House by Professor John Bush on the math of sports balls. I actually had Professor Bush as my 18.02A recitation instructor. (Its a small world after all) Professor Bush has also been known to research the biolocomotion of water striders (translation: how insects walk on water). And so this weekend, Im going to have some fun. With Halloween etc, this weekend, Im sure to have a lot to blog about, but until then, I leave you with this question. How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?