SHASS News

Mixing beats, history, and technology
In a classroom on the third floor of the MIT Media Lab, it’s quiet; the disc jockey is setting up. At the end of a conference table ringed with chairs, there are two turntables on either side of a mixer and a worn crossfader. A MacBook sits to the right of the setup. Today’s class […]
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Body of knowledge
Inside MIT’s Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center, on the springy blue mat of the gymnastics room, an unconventional anatomy lesson unfolded during an October meeting of class STS.024/CMS.524 (Thinking on Your Feet: Dance as a Learning Science). Supported by a grant from the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), Thinking on Your Feet […]
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Cultivators of research
“Intelligent, caring, inspiring, and full-of-wisdom,” one student described Kenneth Oye. Another lauded that “We are beyond lucky to have such a caring, supportive, empathetic and compassionate leader” in Maria Yang. Professors Maria Yang and Kenneth Oye are two of the 2023-25 Committed to Caring cohort, acknowledged for encouraging their students; advocating for meaningful, interesting research; […]
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Bridging philosophy and AI to explore computing ethics
During a meeting of class 6.C40/24.C40 (Ethics of Computing), Professor Armando Solar-Lezama poses the same impossible question to his students that he often asks himself in the research he leads with the Computer Assisted Programming Group at MIT: “How do we make sure that a machine does what we want, and only what we want?” At […]
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Study in India shows kids use different math skills at work vs. school
In India, many kids who work in retail markets have good math skills: They can quickly perform a range of calculations to complete transactions. But as a new study shows, these kids often perform much worse on the same kinds of problems as they are taught in the classroom. This happens even though many of […]
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