Literary

I've picked up two HASS classes: (17.551) The Political Economy of Chinese Reform; and (21L.017) The Art of the Probable. The first is excellent, while the other is about as fun as stabbing myself in the eye. (But it's a HASS-D.)

The professor in 17.551, Ed Steinfeld (who is incidentally one letter away from two former TV shows), is an engaging lecturer who has "lived" the material, having experienced China's political economy through teaching in the country for years, including through the 1989 protest. He pronounces Chinese terms in Chinese, and it is frankly the best Chinese I have heard from, well, a white guy. He sounds like a native. It's such an enjoyable classes that I don't mind reading for it (even though the reading took seven hours the first week, when I added the class), because the professor crafts the information into a comprehensible narrative. History becomes a story, and stories are entertaining, which makes him a success. Of course he tells us he doesn't have all the answers, especially on contemporary issues, and we are often conjecturing on why things happened the way they did. Eventually we will ponder what is to come.

Beethoven the Giant

Last night, I found the piece I want played at my funeral. I also have a new favorite string quartet.

Beethoven mastered string quartet writing. His first set of quartets, Op. 18, are said to just demonstrate that he could do anything that Mozart could do. He gets better and better through his middle quartets, and his late quartets are "widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time." [1] Steven says he set the bar too high for future generations of composers. But after the performance of the third movement of Op. 132 last night by the Chiara String Quartet, I thought he set the bar a little high for even himself. It was a spiritual experience. I thought, how do you even write another movement to follow that?

I will let the music speak for itself. However, I think the effect is much stronger live, and I encourage you to hear it live.

1. Assai sostenuto — Allegro
2. Allegro ma non tanto
3. Molto Adagio — Andante — Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der lydischen Tonart
4. Alla Marcia, assai vivace (attacca)
5. Allegro appassionato — Presto

Spring Courses

Non-stop hip hop, courtesy of Greg's Pandora station, envelops me in The Tech office. I'm tired and usually this is not what I listen to, but the constant beat combined with catchy melodic hooks and homogeneous lyrics about love and heartbreak make for mind-numbingly easy listening, effective therapy to relax me. I've been here long enough to hear several songs twice. It's a bit after midnight, but I'm here tonight to work.

It's the first Friday of the spring term. Four days of school have passed. Classes are just revving their engines, throwing their first spats of gravel at me as their wheels slip and spin.

I'm taking three and a half classes this term: Math for Computer Science (6.042), Signals and Systems (6.003), and Software (6.005), and the half - Chamber Music (21M.445) as usual. It's a moderate load, though I expect to spend a lot of time on each class, particularly 6.005 (which reportedly takes 30+ hours per week) and 6.003 (which really smart friends have described as "challenging").