Brad Feld

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The Amazing Openness of MIT

Nov 04, 2007
Category Technology

A few weeks ago MIT refreshed its OpenCourseWare project.  This project – in which MIT shares curriculum, lecture notes, exams, and other material from over 1700 projects – is amazing.

The project was launched in 2002 by computer science professor Hal Abelson with 32 courses.  I took 6.001: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs from Abelson in 1984.  You can take it also – including working through the online version of the textbook! 

While I don’t have a favorite MIT course (that would be an emotionally complex oxymoron), my most miserable was 18.700 Linear Algebra which I dropped about halfway through.  Sloan (management) courses are well represented, including 15.351: Managing the Innovation Process which was my introduction to Eric von Hippel and my lifelong hatred of software patents.

Speaking of other amazing MIT feats, one of my fraternity brothers – Dan Tani – is current in outer space.

I also have a photo of Dan from a party dressed up as a piece of nigiri sushi, but I’ll spare you that.