Comments for MIT150 Exhibition Nomination

Comment on J. Edgar Hoover Memorial Dope Smoke by Jeff Singer

Jeff Singer — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:04:30 +0000

I recall the theme for this event was “Come fly your head at half-mast.”

Comment on R. Buckminster Fuller lecture by maria gracia fernandez

maria gracia fernandez — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:15:32 +0000

i study art and i’m interesting about tensegrity and need to found more information for my investigation , I have a project, to make an instalation about tensegrity focus on art if you are interested on this please remail me

bless.

Comment on The Great Baker House Snow Hack by Steve Leslie

Steve Leslie — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:07:34 +0000

I remember it was the sixth floor shower room. I am in the photo. Also my father was being interviewed by Walter Cronkite on CBS news on Passamaquaddy Tidal Power project the day after the snow job. In my father info it said he had a son at MIT. CBS had published the hoax as real. When my father got home, he said Walter Cronkite asked him: 1) did he have a son at MIT: 2) does he live in Baker House! (Which I did.)

Comment on Plasma Luminescent Art by David Pedersen

David Pedersen — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:04:32 +0000

I am having trouble finding a replacement fuse’ 6amp 32volt — can you inform me where I can obtain fuses and contact information?

Would really appreciate a prompt reply….thank you

David

Comment on Zork by Janice M. Eisen '85

Janice M. Eisen '85 — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:25:56 +0000

Good grief, the above comment makes me feel ancient. I played the original Zork at the LCS; it was IAP, and I remember getting stuck on a puzzle and going home, then waking up at about 2 am with the solution and running back over to the lab to try it out.

I ended up beta testing games for Infocom, until they went under. This information never fails to impress my sons’ friends. Serious geek mom!

Comment on F&T diner by Janice M. Eisen '85

Janice M. Eisen '85 — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:22:24 +0000

I used to go to the F&T all the time with my boyfriend (now my husband). The staff started referring to us as “the lovebirds.” So of course my memories of the diner are very warm. I was so sad when I heard that it had closed.

The food was pretty good in those days (though not a patch on real NY deli). It was heavily frequented by faculty and students from Course 17 (Political Science, for those of you who can no longer remember all the numbers), since it was near the building.

Comment on Red and Gray scarf by Janice M. Eisen '85

Janice M. Eisen '85 — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 16:15:35 +0000

There also should be one because of the Hepburn/Tracy movie “Desk Set,” where Spencer Tracy’s character is supposed to have gone to MIT and Katherine Hepburn’s character knits him a red and gray scarf. I can’t believe the museum has *no* examples.

Comment on Polaroid film by William M. Stein

William M. Stein — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:23:12 +0000

(To the moderator — I just submitted this comment at “Hybrid Images” although it is not a really good fit, there. I had been thinking of your tags “Illusion” and “Visual Perception” that I found there. But maybe submitting it here is a better fit. Please note that you now have two of the same comment of mine.)

In 1963, I took a course on image processing and television design issues with Prof. William F. Schreiber. Dr. Schreiber took a very comprehensive view of the television design environment, bringing to bear the scan rate, number of lines per frame, and even the retention of visual images on the human retina (about 0.1 sec.). On the subject of color, it was generally agreed that measurement is three-dimensional (e.g., red-green-blue or cyan-magenta-yellow), but Prof. Schreiber wanted to allow Edwin H. Land, co-founder of Polaroid Corp., to state his claims that color could in certain cases be reduced to two dimensions.

In those days, Polaroid was but a short walk from M.I.T. It was a nice day, and we all went on a “field trip.” Edwin Land greeted us, and ushered us into a very comfortable screening room with a projector. He showed us still photos that took advantage of the human retina’s propensity to envision an “opposite” color when saturated with a given predominant color. His presentation included pictures designed to play on our brains’ expectations that certain objects “must be” of a certain color (e.g., evergreen trees “must be” green).

It was an interesting and memorable experience. I recall it whenever I drive by the CambridgeSide Galleria and happen to glance at the street sign: Edwin H. Land Blvd.

Comment on Hybrid Images by William M. Stein

William M. Stein — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:16:44 +0000

(To the moderator — I’m trying to find a subject for this one. The “tags” with your nominated “Hybrid Images” include “Illusion” and “Visual Perception”; either of these would be fine with me.)

It was an interesting and memorable experience. I recall it whenever I drive by the CambridgeSide Galleria and happen to glance at the street sign: Edwin H. Land Blvd.

Comment on Strobe Alley by William M. Stein

William M. Stein — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:05:08 +0000

While I was a graduate student at M.I.T., 1964 – 65, I was fascinated with the photographs of Harold E. “Doc” Edgerton’s that were displayed on the 4th floor hallway walls. So imagine my excitement when I read that his lab was having an “open house” one afternoon. I remember in particular one exhibit that went beyond the familiar photos that I had already seen: The room was pitch dark, and a strobe light was set to flash only when a sudden sharp sound occurred. One of Doc Edgerton’s students was continually blowing up balloons and stabbing them with a knife. The loud “pop” triggered the strobe, with perhaps a few milliseconds’ delay, and during the brief flash I saw a balloon frozen in its path while bursting.

The pattern of a balloon’s demise is remarkable, and consistent from balloon to balloon. Due to the rubber contracting only where the burst is still in progress, the balloon exhibits a very elongated set of zigzags, sort of like interlocking triangular fingers that are starting to separate. This is a phenomenon that one can never see without the aid of a high-speed strobe.