BS in Chemistry

In 2011-2012 Scott Young completed the coursework for a four year MIT Computer Science degree in 12 months. His accomplishment fascinates me. Such an intense, focused piece of work.

My grandson talked about pursuing a chemistry degree. He liked chemistry so it sounded like a good fit. I wondered what such a degree entailed and if someone could pursue it like Scott did for computer science.

To answer this, I went to the MIT website to find BS Chemistry requirements. 

UNITS REQUIRED
147	Chemistry courses
154	General Institute Requirements (GIR)
301	Total Units

Then I compared the required courses with the courses available in the MIT Open Courses Library

UNITS ONLINE
66	Chemistry courses
154	General Institute Requirements (GIR)
220	Total Units

In turns out that 73% of the courses are available on-line. Unfortunately, the ones that are missing are the chemistry courses.  This stands to reason.  Chemistry is a study of the material world and so it requires hands-on manipulation of materials.  Something that cannot be done in a virtual world. Labs are an integral part of chemistry.

Oh, sure, you can get started with biology, math, physics, other GIR courses, and the first year's chemistry to solve the myriad of chemistry problems, but to be a chemist you'll need laboratory.skills, Bottom line, you can't meet all the requirements for a BS in Chemistry by means of online courses.

BUT . . . if you want to get started on learning Chemistry, here is the list of MIT Chemistry Courses with links to the Open Course Ware and books you can read online (where books aren't available online, used versions can be purchased for less than $50 total)

[20250713: Checked the links and fixed the ones that were broken. I noted that some of the books in the Internet Archives are no longer available for borrowing. Most of these can be purchased for less than $10 each used or via kindle.]

MIT Chemistry Courses
NUMBER	UNITS	NAME	RESOURCES	TEXTBOOK	RENT/BUY
5.03	12	Principles of Inorganic Chemistry I	website		online resources
5.04	12	Principles of Inorganic Chemistry II (Fall 2008)	Syllabus	Chemical Applications of Group Theory, 3rd ed by Frank A Cotton	Internet Archives
5.07J	12	Biological Chemistry I (Fall 2013)	Syllabus	Fundamentals of Biochemistry. 4th edition.by Voet, Donald, Judith Voet, and Charlotte Pratt	Internet Archives
5.08J	12	Biological Chemistry II (Spring 2016)	Syllabus	(same as 5.07J)
5.111		Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2008)	Syllabus	Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight. 4th ed by Atkins, Peter, and Loretta Jones	Internet Archives
				Chemical Principles: The Quest for Insight/Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual. 4th ed.	$9.00
5.112		Principles of Chemical Science (Fall 2005)	Syllabus	(same as 5.111)
5.12	12	Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2005)	Syllabus	Organic Chemistry. 5th ed.by L. G. Wade, Jr.	Internet Archives
				Solutions manual [for] Organic chemistry, fifth edition by L.G. Wade, Jr.	Internet Archives
5.13	12	Organic Chemistry I (Spring 2003)	Syllabus	Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry. 6th ed by McMurry, John (5th ed on Internet Archives)	$13.89
				Study guide and solutions manual for McMurry and Simanek's Fundamentals of organic chemistry, sixth edition	Internet Archives
5.351	4	Fundamentals of Spectroscopy	URIECA Labs
5.352	5	Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics
5.353	4	Macromolecular Prodrugs
5.361	4	Recombinant DNA Technology
5.362	5	Cancer Drug Efficacy
5.363	4	Organic Structure Determination
5.371	4	Continuous Flow Chemistry
5.372	4	Chemistry of Renewable Energy
5.373	4	Dinitrogen Cleavage
5.381	4	Quantum Dots
5.382	5	Time and Frequency-Resolved Spectroscopy of Photosynthesis
5.383	4	Fast-Flow Peptide and Protein Synthesis
5.39		Research and Communication in Chemistry
5.43		Advanced Organic Chemistry (Spring 2007)	Syllabus	Advanced Organic Chemistry, Part A: Structure and Mechanisms. 4th ed. by Carey, F. A., and R. J. Sundberg (3rd ed. on Internet Archives).
				Heterocyclic Chemistry. 4th ed. by Joule, J. A., and K. Mills.	Internet Archives
5.601	6	Thermodynamics & Kinetics (Spring 2008)?	Syllabus	Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives)	$11.85
				Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula.	8th ed 2006 on Internet Archives
				Physical Chemistry. 3rd ed. by Castellan, G.	$7.09
5.602	6	Thermodynamics II and Kinetics
5.611	6	Introduction to Spectroscopy	Google books preview of book used in Stanford	Introduction to Spectroscopy 4th Edition by Donald L. Pavia	$11.66
5.612	6	Electronic Structure of Molecules	pdf of 6.701		Electronic Structure of Atoms and Molecules (LibreTexts)
5.62		Physical Chemistry (Fall 2007)	syllabus	Physical Chemistry. 7th ed. by Atkins, P., and J. de Paula.	3.25
				Physical Chemistry. 4th ed. by Silbey, R., R. Alberty, and M. Bawendi. (3rd edition on Internet Archives)
UNITS IN MAJOR	147
ON-LINE	66

Legend
	Required
	Elective
	Alternate elective
	Restrictive elective in Science & Technology
	On-line

Kindness

 Phil St Romain's A Daily Spiritual Seed for January 7 is this Blaise Pascal quote:

Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image in our souls, and a beautiful image it is.

I wanted to share it with my granddaughters and thought that if I could dramatize it with hand motions it, it might grab their attention.  Being able to sign it was the next logical step so I looked for American Sign Language (ASL) tutorials for some of the words:

Kind words do not cost much. 

They never blister the tongue or lips. 

They make other people good-natured. 

They also produce their own image in our souls, and a beautiful image it is.

I don't expect to give a graceful, coherent ASL rendering; I only hope to spark some interest.

Merry Christmas

Sent our Christmas card to the printer's Sunday night (December 5) . . . 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

Read Daily

If you read for 30 minutes a day, that's a good habit.  

If you read something challenging for 30 minutes a day, that's a better habit.

Here are some tidbits for your mind to nibble on:

1. The Feynman Lectures on Physics: The lectures that Richard Feynman delivered at the California Institute of Technology between 1961 and 1963 are inspirational. His book, Six Easy Pieces, is a compilation of those considered to be most accessible. Here are links to these six lectures (If these whet your interest, the California Institute of Technology has generously posted all 115 of his lectures on physics):
1. Atoms in Motion (Volume I, Chapter 1) (audio)
2. Basic Physics (Volume I, Chapter 2) (audio)
3. The Relation of Physics to Other Sciences (Volume I, Chapter 3) (audio)
4. Conservation of Energy (Volume I, Chapter 4) (audio)
5. The Theory of Gravitation (Volume I, Chapter 7) (audio)
6. Quantum Behavior (Volume I, Chapter 37)
2. coursera offers over 7,000 online courses:
1. Creative Writing: The Craft of Plot
2. Writing for Young Readers
3. Meditation
4. Greek and Roman Mythology
5. Songwriting
6. Modern Art and Ideas
3. MIT Opencourseware (OCW): Provides access to over 2500 courses. A few that catch my attention:
1. The Supernatural in Music, Literature and Culture
2. Fundamentals of Music
3. Harmony and Counterpoint
4. Introduction to Musical Composition
5. Playwriting
6. The Creative Spark
7. Introduction to the Visual Arts
8. Language and mind
4. Harvard offers some free online courses:
1. Masterpieces of World Literature (available through March 15, 2022)
2. Shakespeare's Hamlet: the Ghost (available through April 1, 2022)
3. Causal Diagrams: Draw Your Assumptions Before Your Conclusions (hosted by edX)
5. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

As I am compiling this list of lectures and articles to read I realize that I may be motivated enough to 'interact' with the content.  This means taking notes, writing thoughts and describing feelings that the readings incite. Which leads to

1. Doing research:
1. Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
2. Writing and Citation Guides: 
1. Penn State University libraries
2. scribbr (a commercial editing and proofing site)
3. Evaluating resources: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (The CRAAP test)

Music . . . a late start

At 73 I'm finally learning music.

I didn't grow up with music. My generation didn't have cell phones and ear buds that let you live, 24/7 in mystical musical garden. Our generation had the 78's and funky 45's. But a record player didn't germinate in my room. Comic books blossomed there.

My musical journey has been an intermittent waiting at bus stops but not getting on. In high school, I was intrigued by the Beatles but was gobsmacked by the hysteria that cocooned them. In college, a dorm mate was an avid Bob Dylan fan, but I didn't have a clue of who Bob was. I had a room mate who loved Ray Charles and we'd go bar hoping in Baton Rouge while he sang Hit the Road Jack. In the Army I enjoyed a weed enhanced ride on the Staten Island ferry and the New York subway to become momentarily mesmerized by Woodstock, the movie, before a downer in the third hour caused me to ruminate about what's it all about. After that I found myself dolefully perking up when He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother or Bridge Over Troubled Waters played on the radio in the barracks. I met my future wife, Chris, in Belgium and  American Pie became "our song" because of it's subtle Louisiana back flavor. We got married in Baton Rouge, so Me and Bobby McGee is one of our favorites. Chris was on the 'bus'; she saw the Rolling Stones before one of them became a magazine. 

My wife introduced me to Harry Chapin, Queen, Procol Harum, The Lovin' Spoonful, Blood Sweat and Tears, Cream, The Byrds, Fleetwood Mack. We gravitated toward folk music and, when we moved to Tennessee, country.

Recently I developed an itch to make music.  It began two months ago. 

I bought my son and daughter electronic violins. I have this fantasy that one of my grandchildren might end up playing.  Truth be told, it was me who wanted a violin, but watching my son fiddle with the tuning (unintentional pun) and noticing that the fret was fretless made me realize that I needed something a bit less uncontrolled. Hello Mr Yamaha Keyboard.

Keyboard-san

After making Keyboard-san comfortable in a corner, I proceeded to do my normal bit of sabotaging . . . I got books.

Lots of books!

All sorts of books:

• Piano for Adults; 
• Piano for kids, 
• How to read Music, 
• How to Read Music for Dummies; 
• Music Theory 1; 
• Music Theory 101; 
• Music Theory for Dummies

I call this sabotage because I know, 

really really know,

that in order to learn music, 

I 

HAVE

TO

PLAY

MUSIC

Reading about music isn't MUSIC!

But I ignored this wise part of myself, paradoxically force feeding my brain musical wisdom by signing up for coursera Fundamental Music Theory and binging on Great Courses musical offerings.

I rationalized the book buying, the coursera, the binge learning as a way to DEVELOP A GAME PLAN. Imagine my surprise to discover, when I finally started practicing with Piano for Adults and taking advantage of the three months of "flowkey" that came with my keyboard, that the book and the app have a game plan integrated in the lessons!

So now, only two months after Keyboard-san's arrival, I've put the books away and started plinking along with flowkey, working my way through Piano for Adults and Hanon, and watching Zach Evans' Become a Piano Superhero videos.

To be or not to be vaccinated, a cultural dysfunction?

I was talking with my daughter and we disagree about COVID-19 vaccinations.

I support a strategy of pushing vaccinations as a way to minimize the number of people who are hospitalized and/or die, we should focus our efforts on vaccinating residents 35 and older. They account for 97% of the hospitalizations and deaths.

My daughter was pointing out that the COVID-19 vaccines have caused heart problems. It turns out that she's correct, there have been cases of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccinations among people less than 30.  Here are three articles that address the issue:

• from Harvard Medical School publications
• from a website called Science Based Medicine
• from CNBC

For people less than 30, if they want a vaccination but are anxious about their heart, they should consider the J&J vaccine.

Our discussion mad me realize how disgruntled I am that that our 'culture' has politicized wearing masks and getting vaccines.  These health strategies were turned into symbols that, because of loyalty, cannot be disentangled. Our inability as a culture to address health is dysfunctional. 

Judging the last paragraph to be a rant, I decided to take a step back and look at our country's health via the death and mortality data for the US and the world. At first, based on comparing the causes of death in the US to the world, I thought I was ranting without merit. But then I noticed an aberration. The US has a higher mortality rate for cancer than other high income countries. 

Our cultural dysfunction has a physical manifestation: 

we are eating ourselves from the inside out.

Learning to be a portrait artist

So I want to be a portrait artist. You might think it's awfully late in life for a 73 year old man to want to do this, but, hey! Why not?

To be a portrait artist, you need to have an intuitive understanding of the head. Now I've been to art classes and learned to draw the head by getting a plastic model of the skull, drawing it from various angles, studying the muscles that control the features, and doing studies of the face in the throes of various emotions. My portraits improved, but it wasn't enough.  I don't have an intuitive feel for the parts that create a person's identity.

To improve my skills I found YouTube videos that help:

• Proko's Quickly Draw Heads with Loomis Method, Part 1
• Proko's Draw Any Head Type with the Loomis Method, Part 2
• Proko's Intuitive Portrait Sketching with the Loomis Method, Part 3

After watching these I wanted to go to the source and was able to borrow Drawing the Head and Hands by Andrew Loomis from my library.  Originally published in 1943, the edition I looked at was published in 2011

As Proko mentions in his videos, Andrew has done an analysis of the head and the features. Luckily he shared his results in his book and provides maps that help locate the features on men and women in each stage of development:

• Toddler
• Child
• Teenager
• Adult

I saw these when I was much younger and the arrogant me didn't see much value in them. The only thing I remembered was that the ear is as long as the nose (brow to tip of nose). The older, wiser me reviewed them again this week and, after investing the time to make a study of each, found the gold: understanding how the features "move" from toddler to adult (drawing cute kids starts with getting their features placed correctly . . . Who knew!)

TODDLER

YOUNG BOY

ADULT MALE

ADULT FEMALE

Here is a link to some of the pages in Andrew's book.

And here is a link to a 3D version of the Andrew Loomis Head:

Andrew Loomis Head V2.0 by Vivek Aakash on Sketchfab

I'm optimistic that learning from Andrew Loomis will improve my portraits.