The appendices were as interesting as the book-the notes included extended details about characters/university history, show equations, and just generally provide interesting anecdotes and facts that don't fit anywhere in the narrative. He's not afraid to reveal himself as an asshole, and this increased his likability for me. So many flaws and humiliating anecdotes are included about the author that you just have to feel for this guy. It was kind of disappointing though, when I found out at the end that one of my favorite characters was a composite. He explains that a lot of the characters are composites even so, they feel three-dimensional and emotional(i just really enjoyed that we get a play-by-play of what in this nonfiction has been fabricated). The pacing of Pepper's grad school experience was well thought out and allowed me to immerse myself in the story. The narrating voice was approachable and interesting, even when explaining or ranting about an advanced mechanical engineering problem I had no background on. White has added a new preface and concluding chapter to this edition to bring the story of his continuing education up to date. There have of course been changes at MIT since 1984, but its essence is still the same. This, then, is the story of how one student learned how to think. The first professor White met at MIT told him that it did not really matter what he learned there, but that MIT would teach him how to think. His account of his experiences, written in diary form, offers insight into graduate school life in general-including the loneliness and even desperation that can result from the intense pressure to succeed-and the purposes of engineering education in particular. Pepper White entered MIT in 1981 and received his master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1984. This is a personal story of the educational process at one of the world's great technological universities.

Book the idea factory