Independent Activities Period

Inc. columnist Justin Bariso spotlights the late Prof. Patrick Winston’s IAP course “How to Speak,” which was aimed at helping people improve their communications skills while also underscoring the important role engagement plays in becoming a better listener. Some people ask why [no laptops, no cellphones] is a rule of engagement," said Winston. "The answer is, we humans only have one language processor. And if your language processor is engaged ... you're distracted. And, worse yet, you distract all of the people around you. Studies have shown that."

Casey Quackenbush reviews MIT visiting artist Anicka Yi’s new olfactory exhibition ‘Aliens and Alzheimers’ for The New York Observer. "Her exhibit is supposed to challenge the way we overlook our sense of smell in favor of taste and sight," writes Quackenbush.

Dennis Keohane writes for BetaBoston about Start6, an IAP offering from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) aimed at teaching students about entrepreneurship. “The course exposed the students not just to one way of thinking but a multitude of different ways to think about starting a business,” says EECS Dept. Head Anantha Chandrakasan. 

Nidhi Subbaraman reports for BetaBoston on the Forces Frozen workshop, held during MIT’s Independent Activities Period, during which students use frozen fabric to create structures.  “The point of this workshop is to explore this world of shells but open up this world of potentially occupy-able installations to a lot more people,” explains Professor Caitlin Mueller.

Heidi Legg writes for BetaBoston about the Women in Innovation and Entrepreneurship networking reception held last week as part of EECS’s entrepreneurship course, Start6. “The world would be a better place with more women entrepreneurs,” said Prof. Cynthia Breazeal.