Blogs: By Author

Unashamed to Be a Nerd

Proclaiming my love for Harry Potter

SEP 2019
by Anna I.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
My friends at school weren’t really into Harry Potter. Many had watched the movies, and a few had read the books, but the magical world did not have the same appeal for them as it did for me. I was enthralled by the story of the Boy Who Lived, captivated by the psychological complexity of the...

Going Through a Breakup

How work and friends helped me (somewhat) regain my inner balance

JUN 2019
by Anna I.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
I came back to Boston after a month of traveling to find out that my boyfriend and I had fallen out of love. After an ever-difficult conversation during a rainy September night, I was faced with the necessity to adjust to my “single” relationship status while staying on top of my responsibilities...

The Risks of Speaking Up

How to win a speech competition by going meta

OCT 2018
by Anna I.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Ping – a new email in my inbox. It was a reminder that I had signed up for the “MIT Can Talk” Oratory Competition, taking place tomorrow. The email window stayed open for a while, waiting patiently while I was deciding whether I still wanted to participate. I had just submitted a paper for a...

From Neurons to Language

Joys and sorrows of interdisciplinary research

MARCH 2018
by Anna I.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
When I was waitlisted for MIT undergraduate admissions, I put together a statement that would serve as an addendum to my application. It included a Venn diagram that depicted my scientific interests at the time.  Not a single person from the waitlist was accepted that year, but little did I know...

Let’s Break Down Echo Chambers

The importance of different perspectives in science and in life

March 2018
by Anna I.
Brain and Cognitive Sciences
“Luckily, we live in a blue, blue state. I mean, if you don’t like living in a blue state… well, too bad.” I shivered. I was at a mandatory ethics training session held here, at MIT. We had just finished talking about inclusion and acceptance. And yet our instructor demonstrated the very opposite...