ESP Biography



BENJAMIN YANG, Mathematician turned software engineer




Major: 18, 6

College/Employer: MIT/Facebook

Year of Graduation: 2012

Picture of Benjamin Yang

Brief Biographical Sketch:

MIT class of 2012
studied 18 (math) and 6-3 (CS)

currently a software engineer at Facebook on the Site Integrity and Security Infrastructure teams



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

M4786: Intro to Password Security in Splash Spring 2016 (Apr. 09 - 10, 2016)
Passwords. We use them a lot. We also hear about them getting stolen a lot. There's even several xkcd comics about them (538,792,936,1286). Come learn a bit about best practices for safely handling passwords, both from the user and service sides.


L4989: How to BS in Splash Spring 2016 (Apr. 09 - 10, 2016)
Let's dispel once and for all with this fiction that you need to know what you're talking about. You don't need to know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Facts are useful. But unfortunately, not always available. Luckily for you, this class is all about how to break your crippling dependency on facts. Come learn all about creating information without worrying about inconsequential things such as "reality", or "truth". Become an expert at being an expert. I know what I'm talking about, and so can you!


L4379: How to BS in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 11 - 12, 2015)
Facts. They are useful. But unfortunately, not always available. Luckily for you, this class is all about how to break your crippling dependency on facts. Come learn all about creating information without worrying about inconsequential things such as "reality", or "truth". Become an expert at being an expert. I know what I'm talking about, and so can you!


M4380: Intro to Password Security in Splash Spring 2015 (Apr. 11 - 12, 2015)
Passwords. We use them a lot. We also hear about them getting stolen a lot. There's even several xkcd comics about them (538,792,936,1286). Come learn a bit about best practices for safely handling passwords, both from the user and service sides.


M4040: I couldn't decide what to teach, AMA in Splash Fall 2014 (Nov. 08 - 09, 2014)
I couldn't decide what to teach, so I'll let you guys decide. Ask me what you'd like to learn, and hopefully I'll have good answers. I was a math and CS major, and I currently work as a software engineer on anti-spam/security.


M3426: Inequalities in Splash! Spring 2014 (Apr. 12 - 13, 2014)
An introduction and overview of some common (and maybe not so common) inequalities from math competitions. We'll start from basics such as the trivial inequality and AM-GM and move towards more complicated ones up to Muirhead and Karamata (if time permits).


L3427: How To Bullshit in Splash! Spring 2014 (Apr. 12 - 13, 2014)
Facts. They are useful. But unfortunately, not always available. Luckily for you, this class is all about how to break your crippling dependency on facts. Come learn all about creating information without worrying about inconsequential things such as "reality", or "truth". Become an expert at being an expert. I know what I'm talking about, and so can you!


L3144: How to Bullshit in Splash! Fall 2013 (Nov. 02 - 03, 2013)
Facts. They are useful. But unfortunately, not always available. Luckily for you, this class is all about how to break your crippling dependency on facts. Come learn all about creating information without worrying about inconsequential things such as "reality", or "truth". Become an expert at being an expert. I know what I'm talking about, and so can you!


L2647: How to Bullshit in Splash! Spring 2013 (Apr. 13 - 14, 2013)
There are 47% of Splash students who won't take this class no matter what. All right, there are 47% who are dependent on being taught, who believe that they are victims, who believe that Splash has a responsibility to teach them everything, that they are entitled to instruction on every individual thing. That that's an entitlement. And that Splash should give it to them. And they won't take this class no matter what. These are students who pay no information tax. 47% of Splash students pay no information tax. And so our job is not to worry about those students- we'll never convince them to take personal responsibility and care about their lives. Our job is to teach you, the rugged individualists, all about creating information. In this class, you'll pull yourself up by your mental bootstraps and become experts at info-genesis. And once you finish this class, you will make all other Splash students intellectually wealthier as your knowledge and competency trickle down. Sign up for this class, because you are information creators, and are more valuable than the fact-poor who rely on Splash handouts to get by.