Advising Seminars

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As part of the Media Arts and Sciences program, we offer a variety of freshman advising seminars. Although these are open to any freshmen, students who register for these seminars (through the standard seminar selection process) are encouraged to enroll in the MAS freshman program; conversely, we encourage students interested in the MAS freshman program to register for one of these seminars before they arrive on campus.

Walter Bender
MAS.A12
Games, Puzzlers, and Other Things to Think With
Wednesday 7:00-9:00PM, E15-283

"A great discovery solves a great problem, but there is a grain of discovery in solving any problem." — G. Polya

In this seminar we will spend our time creating and solving puzzles. We will also:

(0) Learn to program in Python and write some games;
(1) Engage in building a taxonomy of puzzles;
(2) Adopt a quality metric for evaluating puzzles and hints;
(720!) Research and develop algorithms and heuristics for solving puzzles; and
(?) Note the history of mathematical and visual games and puzzles.

Profile: Walter Bender is a senior research scientist.

Henry Holtzman
MAS.A16
Steal These Bits
Wednesday 3:00-5:00PM, E15-235

Nobody really wants to pay for music, TV, movies or even software. In this seminar we'll take a look at how digital media is created and distributed, how those systems are protected and pirated, and delve a bit into the law and ethics involved. Topics will range from taking a look at how mp3s work, to DVD encryption methods, to "fair use." Along the way we'll discuss how software is different from music, and copyright from trademark. We'll take a look at why Napster was hugely popular, what caused it to be all-but-shut-down, and how that was even possible. Can the old business models survive? What might take their place?

Profile: Henry Holtzman is a Research Scientist at the MIT Media Lab. He was once an MIT freshman himself, and spent a good deal of his undergraduate years in the basement of Walker at WMBR, the campus radio station. As a researcher, Mr. Holtzman worked on the MPEG standards committee, innovated infrastructure for distributing on-demand multi-media via the Internet, and looked beyond the desktop metaphor for interacting with computers. He returned to MIT after having spent 3 years away founding and running a technology start-up.

V. Michael Bove, Jr.
MAS.A19
Designing Consumer Electronics
Friday 3:00-5:00pm in E15-363

What makes well-designed products more attractive and pleasant to use than average or bad ones? We'll use case studies in consumer electronics to explore how technology, human factors, aesthetics, and marketing collide when we try to design products. As a final project, each student will have to propose and defend a concept for a new product, based on what we've learned.

Profile: V. Michael Bove, Jr. co-directs a research program at the Media Lab exploring the design of consumer electronics products. He was one of the designers of the OLPC XO laptop and is working with his students on holographic television. He lives on a small farm and has a "thing" for antique tractors (at least well-designed ones).