What did I make from my MIT education? Rafael Reif, the president of MIT, is sending the same question to all MIT alumni so as to come up with a collective MIT story. So, here goes. To begin with, I did not only get my doctoral degree from the Institute, but I also taught there, both part- and full-time, for a bit more than a decade. My MIT education continued through all these years. And what did I make from it? Well, I made myself. My research was shaped at the Institute, but it also shaped me. The most thrilling moments in my life have to do with discoveries I made using tools I mastered during my doctoral studies. By and large, this was matrix algebra applied to whole economies. The discoveries were electrifying, indeed. Resting on mathematics, they were bright and sharp. Bang! My discoveries got published in due time, and they got appreciated by my colleagues around the world. That was that, though. My branch of mathematical economics, as it was called when I started, gradually fell out of favor with policymakers around the globe, and many of my discoveries gradually turned sour. If this whole story also sounds a tad too sour, I am still happy about my MIT education. In fact, I relish it to this day. I made myself to my liking, that is. As for policymakers, they are neglecting matrix algebra at their own and our collective peril.