Build a historic meal and think like an economist

In John's November Newsletter

Chalk Radio: Paying it Forward with FinTech with Prof. Gary Gensler

A macro view of multiple one hundred dollar bills.

In this episode, Professor Gary Gensler explains financial technology (FinTech) and shares how he's helping future business leaders develop a way of thinking that prioritizes respect and professionalism. (Image by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash)

One might imagine that an expert on financial technology would view human relations through a primarily transactional lens. But Professor Gary Gensler, in teaching his course on financial technology (or “FinTech”) at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, tries to base his interactions with his students on a different model.

Feeling indebted to the older mentors who helped and supported him in his student days and his early career, he seeks to repay that debt by nurturing his own students’ intellectual and professional development and by teaching them to do the same for others in years to come.

> Read the complete article

Recently on the "Community" tab of our YouTube page, every Friday we've been highlighting an OCW video. Here are a few favorites.

"Mathematics of Big Data and Machine Learning" introduces the Dynamic Distributed Dimensional Data Model (D4M), a breakthrough in computer programming that addresses problems associated with Big Data. Find more course materials here.

Watch this one-hour master class on effective presentations by the late Patrick Winston. Read more about it here.

A statue of Rachel Carson with a book in her lap and her legs crossed. There is green grass behind her.

A statue of Rachel Carson. Her book "Silent Spring" alerted the public to the dangers of chemical pesticides and launched the environmental movement. (Image by MA MarineFisheries via Flikr)

WGS.160J Science Activism: Gender, Race, and Power

This subject examines the role scientists have played as activists in social movements in the U.S. following World War II. Themes include scientific responsibility and social justice, the roles of gender, race, and power, the motivation of individual scientists, strategies for organizing, and scientists’ impact within social movements. Case studies include atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons and the nuclear freeze campaign, climate science and environmental justice, the civil rights movement, Vietnam War protests, the March 4 movement at MIT, concerns about genetic engineering, gender equality, intersectional feminism, and student activism at MIT.

A gas station sign reading "UNLEADED 1.66." It's dusk and there are bare trees in the background.

The price of commodities, such as gasoline, fluctuates due to supply and demand, a key concept in microeconomics. (Image by Don Sniegowski on flickr.)

14.01 Principles of Microeconomics

This introductory undergraduate course covers the fundamentals of microeconomics. Topics include supply and demand, market equilibrium, consumer theory, production and the behavior of firms, monopoly, oligopoly, welfare economics, public goods, and externalities.

Chalk Radio Podcast: Prof. Jonathan Gruber was featured in an episode of OpenCourseWare's podcast, Chalk Radio. In the episode "Thinking Like an Economist," Prof. Gruber talks about how he engages students in 14.01 with accessible real world examples.

A robot lying on its side is seen from their hips to their head.

The development of artificial intelligence, and the management of its relationship with human beings, presents new ethical challenges. (Public domain image courtesy of RANT 73 - Visual Storyteller on Flickr.)

10.01 Ethics for Engineers: Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the algorithmic judgment at its core, is developing at breakneck speed. This version of the popular Ethics for Engineers course focuses on the ethics issues involved in the latest developments of computer science.

Faculty Profile: Anne McCants

A photo of Anne McCants smiling, shown from the chin up. There is blurred greenery to the left.

Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.

Building a historical meal from scratch is a perfect reflection of McCants’ methods.

For economic historian Anne McCants, it's the little things that count. Something as simple as dinner can be full of historical signifiers. In a popular IAP seminar she teaches at MIT, called "Old Food: Ancient and Medieval Cooking," McCants treats food as a cultural object that reveals important clues about class, technology, and health in the past.

> Read the complete article

Views from OCW Supporters

A person with brown hair and glasses holds up a black book, covering their smile. The wall behind them is pink and blue.

Image by Laika Notebooks on Unsplash.

I live in a rural area without any book stores that carry the non-fiction books I like to read. But with OCW, I can "browse" through the books listed for each course.

Sometimes, I get so excited by these new books that I catch myself humming!

-Jilda, United States

>We'd love to hear from you. Tell us your OCW Story.

An act of generosity

A laptop screen shows the OCW homepage. There is greenery to the left.

OCW started as an act of generosity on the part of MIT faculty, who agreed to open their teaching materials to the world. Since that commitment in 2001, OCW has been sustained by countless daily acts of generosity from both faculty and learners, who generously support us with their words, their communities, and their donations.

We are grateful for all the acts of generosity that have brought us to today. If you can afford a donation, please consider giving to OCW to keep us moving forward.

P.S. You can also save the date for Giving Tuesday, the global celebration of giving and generosity on December 1!

For free resources for high school teachers and students, check out: