The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has since played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, ranking among the top academic institutions in the world.
The smoot is a nonstandard, humorous unit of length created as part of an MIT fraternity prank. It is named after Oliver R. Smoot, a fraternity pledge to Lambda Chi Alpha, who in October 1958 lay down repeatedly on the Harvard Bridge so that his fraternity brothers could use his height to measure the length of the bridge.
The Infinite Corridor is a 251-meter (823 ft) hallway that runs through the main buildings of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specifically parts of the buildings numbered 7, 3, 10, 4, and 8.
The hacker culture is a subculture of individuals who enjoy - often in collective effort - the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming the limitations of software systems or electronic hardware, to achieve novel and clever outcomes. The act of engaging in activities in a spirit of playfulness and exploration is termed hacking. However, the defining characteristic of a hacker is not the activities performed themselves, but how it is done and whether it is exciting and meaningful. Activities of playful cleverness can be said to have "hack value" and therefore the term "hacks" came about, with early examples including pranks at MIT done by students to demonstrate their technical aptitude and cleverness. The hacker culture originally emerged in academia in the 1960s around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) and MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Hacking originally involved entering restricted areas in a clever way without causing any major damage. Some famous hacks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology were placing of a campus police cruiser on the roof of the Great Dome and converting the Great Dome into R2-D2.
Buzzword bingo, also known as bullshit bingo, is a bingo-style game where participants prepare bingo cards with buzzwords and tick them off when they are uttered during an event, such as a meeting or speech. The goal of the game is to tick off a predetermined number of words in a row and then signal bingo to other players.
The Tech Model Railroad Club (TMRC) is a student organization at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Historically it has been a wellspring of hacker culture and the oldest such hacking group in North America. Formed in 1946, its HO scale layout specializes in automated operation of model trains.
Harold Abelson is the Class of 1922 Professor of Computer Science and Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a founding director of both Creative Commons and the Free Software Foundation.
Roof and tunnel hacking is the unauthorized exploration of roof and utility tunnel spaces. The term carries a strong collegiate connotation, stemming from its use at MIT and at the U.S. Naval Academy, where the practice has a long history. It is a form of urban exploration. Some participants use it as a means of carrying out collegiate pranks, by hanging banners from high places or, in one notable example from MIT, placing a life-size model police car on top of a university building. Others are interested in exploring inaccessible and seldom-seen places; that such exploration is unauthorized is often part of the thrill. Roofers, in particular, may be interested in the skyline views from the highest points on a campus. On August 1, 2016, Red Bull TV launched the documentary series URBEX – Enter At Your Own Risk, that also chronicles roof and tunnel hacking.
The Tech, first published on November 16, 1881, is the campus newspaper at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Editions are published on Thursdays throughout the academic year and about once a month over the summer. The Tech established an early presence on the World Wide Web, and continues to publish online in tandem with the print edition.
The Cecil and Ida Green Building, also called the Green Building or Building 54, is an academic and research building at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The building houses the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS). It is one of the tallest buildings in Cambridge.
Nightwork is shift work which is carried out at night.
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort. A person who performs a practical joke is called a "practical joker" or "prankster". Other terms for practical jokes include gag, rib, jape, or shenanigan.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class ring, often called the Brass Rat, is a commemorative ring for the graduating class of students at MIT. The ring is redesigned each year by a committee of MIT students. The class ring has three main sections: the bezel, containing MIT's mascot, the beaver; the MIT seal ; and the class year. The side surfaces of the current ring design show the Boston and Cambridge skylines. An MIT campus map and the student's name are engraved on the inner surface. On earlier versions, the Great Dome and Building 10 facade were featured on each shank, with "MIT" under it on one side and the class year on the other.
Hacks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are practical jokes and pranks meant to prominently demonstrate technical aptitude and cleverness, or to commemorate popular culture and historical topics. The pranks are anonymously installed at night by hackers, usually, but not exclusively, undergraduate students. The actions of hackers are governed by an informal, yet extensive, body of precedent, tradition, and ethics. Hacks can occur anywhere across campus, or occasionally off campus; many make use of the iconic Great Dome, Little Dome, Green Building tower, or other prominent architectural features of the MIT campus. Well-known hacker alumni include Nobel Laureates Richard P. Feynman and George F. Smoot. In October 2009, US President Barack Obama made a reference to the MIT hacking tradition during an on-campus speech about clean energy.
MIT Tech Talk was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's official newspaper from February 1957 until September 2009, when it ceased publication. It was written and published by the MIT News Office, both in print and online, with print copies distributed throughout campus free of charge. The publication schedule was roughly weekly, with an issue out most Wednesdays during the academic term.
Building 20 was a temporary timber structure hastily erected during World War II on the central campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since it was always regarded as "temporary", it never received a formal name throughout its 55-year existence.
The Jargon File is a glossary and usage dictionary of slang used by computer programmers. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab (SAIL) and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It was published in paperback form in 1983 as The Hacker's Dictionary, revised in 1991 as The New Hacker's Dictionary.
The college rivalry between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is stemming from the colleges' reputations as the top science and engineering schools in the United States. The rivalry is unusual given the geographic distance between the schools, one being in Pasadena, California, and the other in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as its focus on elaborate pranks rather than sporting events.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Department is the police agency charged with providing law enforcement to the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 168-acre campus extends over 1 mile (1.6 km) along the northern bank of the Charles River basin.
Geeks & Greeks is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel written by humorist Steve Altes, illustrated by Andy Fish, and colored by Veronica Fish. It includes a foreword by novelist Matthew Pearl and is dedicated to Sean Collier. Geeks & Greeks is set at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and locations in Boston, Cambridge, and the Quincy Quarries. The story was inspired by MIT's hacking culture and the writer's experiences with fraternity hazing. At MIT a hack is a clever, benign prank or unsanctioned public display or installation that requires technical sophistication to execute and often incorporates an offbeat sense of humor. Geeks & Greeks has been described as Good Will Hunting meets Animal House.
