
A love letter to MIT - ilamont
http://tech.mit.edu/V132/N35/loveletter.html
======
threejay
I attended college in Boston at a different, much less prestigious
institution. After wandering around the MIT campus a handful of times, I began
to wonder if there was any way I could possibly get involved in the ecosystem.
So that fall, I volunteered to help run the annual business plan competition
and was accepted on the organizing team without any questions.

Over the course of the next 3 years I became more and more involved at MIT,
helping run other student organizations and attending as many talks and events
as I could. I can honestly say that no one ever snubbed me or looked down on
me for not being an MIT student, and that I truly felt like one of their own.
If I ever see significant success in this life, I look forward to being able
to repay the debt I owe to this marvelous institution. MIT truly is a special
place.

------
dmlorenzetti
A lot of this rings true to my memory of grad student days at MIT. For
example, MIT libraries were open, but I wasn't even allowed to browse the
stacks in some of Harvard's libraries-- let alone to check out a book.

In my memory, one of the things MIT did very well was avoiding barriers
between academic departments. They had lots of research groups comprising
professors and students from multiple fields, and there were no limits on what
classes you could take based on what department you were in. (When I moved to
Berkeley a few years later, I was surprised to discover I couldn't take a
class in the journalism school unless I was enrolled as a journalism student.)

On the other hand, MIT did somewhat cultivate an exclusive attitude among its
students-- particularly the undergrads. During my time there, I felt there was
a pervasive strain of "We're the best in the world..." getting shaded into
"...therefore nobody else is any good." I imagine if I had gone there after
attending Harvard, I wouldn't have noticed so much, but as a midwesterner
whose prior academic experience was at University of Cincinnati, it did seem
to me that MIT spent a lot of time stroking the egos of its community.

~~~
mayneack
Other aspects of the institute do a pretty good job of putting those egos back
down.

~~~
dmlorenzetti
Yes, they do. And the "Tute culture can be perversely proud of those, too.

But I don't want to give the impression I didn't like it there. Those were, in
many ways, the best years of my life, and MIT culture contributed strongly to
that.

------
nrbafna
I did not go to MIT; heck I haven't been to the States. But, this post does
really warm my heart!

I am about to graduate from an elite Indian university and I can only gasp at
the vast difference. Restrictions on what courses you can take up as
electives, exams that many a times test only on memory, the end goal to
academics is to land a decent job, subpar internet access, etc.

But, I have benefitted greatly from MIT's OCW. I haven't signed up for any
course on edX but have religiously completed a couple of courses on Udacity
and eagerly waiting for NLP to commence on Coursera.

------
vonkow
I somehow managed to become a software engineer with narry a high school
diploma, how? I had the good forture to be born to two recent MIT graduates
who, during my childhood worked on campus. I wouldn't be me, or know what I
know, were it not for how open and inspiring an environment that MIT fostered.

~~~
oacgnol
That's quite interesting, did you ever end up attending college at all? What
are you doing now, and what did your parents do?

~~~
vonkow
I still haven't gotten around to going to college, don't think I ever will,
unless I get bored and someone wants to take a PhD candidate with no formal
education. Currently, I build websites and educational software for WGBH.

My parents, step-mom, and godparents (all MIT grads) have each held a number
of eclectic jobs, from comptational biologist, to technical writer, to
human/machine interface in college admission offices, to webmaster, to
landscaper, to politician, to managing large philanthropic organizations.

What strikes me, is that in each of those jobs all of them have excelled, and
MIT played no small part in the matter.

------
shuw
Having gone to school in a small college town (UWaterloo), I always thought
that 24hr open libraries and labs were the norm. I can't imagine not being
able to work through the night on hard problems.

For MIT, such open policies must be more logistically challenging because they
are close to a city. And my school never had the same culture of collaboration
between departments and humble but famous professors.

~~~
dgreensp
I think by "open" we are not talking about hours here, but the fact that a
non-MIT student can walk in off the street, wander the halls, use the
libraries, and study in a classroom.

~~~
icegreentea
Waterloo is mostly that way as well. Classroom use is tricky - there tends to
be lock up at night after cleaning staff go through, but outside of the
research labs, there aren't many controlled access areas.

~~~
alexsb92
Though a case can be made that this is mostly irrelevant in Waterloo's case,
as for all intents and purposes, everyone in Waterloo who might be interested
in what Waterloo has to offer is a student at Waterloo.

------
arlando
My school didn't lock doors and I had friends visit and be amazed at how every
building was open to study and meet in. Unfortunately we did have to pay for
printing. It is very easy to take these liminal spaces for granted and abuse
privilege of access. Overtime students began to do drugs and abuse other
things because of the "open" attitude. Buildings I used to stumble out of at
4am from studying in the summer time were now closed at 12:00AM during the
semester.

It is nice to read someone else is aware of the power of access and space... I
try not to forget there is an assumed privilege, responsibility, and level of
maturity that comes with access.

~~~
vineel
Out of curiosity, where did you go?

------
zallarak
In a time when I didn't really know what to study/learn, MIT OCW gave me a
huge repository of credible and well-structured information. The SICP and
intro to algorithms/data structures lectures were among the coolest
introduction to computer science/programming, their physics class helped me
study for the MCAT in college and I recall they had a very intuitive intro
calculus class that made it click for me in a way my own university's class
did not. I've gotten dozens, perhaps even over 100 hours of entertainment and
enrichment from their FREE resources. A truly awesome institution.

------
calinet6
I now live very close to MIT and have experienced its openness and benefit to
the community firsthand. I'm also thankful, however, that I could say many of
the same things about my alma mater Berkeley. Something about these schools
that foster this sort of love is very special. We should strive never to lose
that.

Fiat Lux!

------
bbq
What can organizations generally do to help cut down on "logistical hurdles to
overcome"?

MIT makes available to all free printing and shuttles.

What can organizations generally do to help foster the sharing of information?

MIT encourages collaboration and their professors are accessible.

Of course, simply applying these tricks to an organization is doomed to fail.
To do so would simply be to create a cargo cult.

What matters is the attitude with which you approach your organization. Your
attitude is what drives the organizational experience.

~~~
awm
Completely agree. The key point is not "applying" these traits, or treating
them as "tricks," its simply that the professors there embody that ideal. As
an undergrad, it was easy for me to grab 10 minutes of any professor's time,
even if it wasn't related to their courses or study. A lot of my classes had
over 300 students in them, yet that didn't keep a professor from meeting with
me either.

~~~
bbq
How would you summarize MIT's attitude?

~~~
awm
May sound corny, but I'd have to say "Fostering." If you show interest in
something, be it knowledge about a subject or field (or entrepreneurship),
they will always make sure you have all the resources you need. Part of this
(and has been voiced in some of the other comments) is that they will never
block you from learning or exploring something.

~~~
bbq
Fostering is a great word for the attitude we should strive for.

------
ANH
My sisters went to non-MIT schools in Boston. While visiting as a curious high
school student, I decided to go wander the MIT campus. All I have to do to be
inspired is remember the sights I saw through all the open doorways.

------
kevinburke
I'm wondering if the reason MIT can afford to trust its students so much is
that it's recruiting the types of students with more of an internal drive, who
aren't just trying to skate through college.

~~~
mechanical_fish
But it isn't just the students that they trust. I have never taken a course at
MIT but I, too, can visit the libraries and roam the classrooms.

It's awesome.

------
harigov
All the stuff that is mentioned here is applicable to most of the US
universities. At least the one I attended to, had similar open access to
everything and an environment that fosters collaboration and innovation.

~~~
tedmiston
I just graduated from a mid-size university in the midwest. Engineering
students pay $300-$500 per year (based on engineering credit hours) for "tech
fee" which gets us unlimited printing and lab access basically. Open labs are
virtually nonexistent with the exception of 2 small 24-hour labs around the
printers. Engineers have 24-hour swipe card access, but other majors do not.
It is not especially known for research, but about half of the professors are
actively performing research and most are willing to talk to you about
anything.

------
mukaiji
i feel the same way about stanford...but i went there so i don't know how open
it really is.

~~~
dredmorbius
The campus is fairly accessible. Including a number of seminars which are open
to the public.

Other facilities, notably the library, not so much by reports.

~~~
mukaiji
yeah you can only get in with a student idea, and up to 7 times a year without
one. I think it's a real shame because they have an amazing collection of up-
to-date periodicals in there. Basically, any major newspaper & magazine from
around the world is available the day after publication in the home country.
Not sure how relevant it is in the age of ubiquitous online publications, but
it's still nice. The green library also has a fabulous collection of old
books.

------
robbiep
This makes me want to Doctorate there

------
gnosis
This name-dropping, panting puppy of an essay is pure garbage.

Did anyone else notice how many times the author mentioned free printing? Is
it really that big a deal?

Perhaps MIT should adopt a new motto: "We offer free printing!!!"

And who cares who she dated or who she married? What self-indulgent tripe!

So MIT is more open than Harvard. Whoopdie fucking doo.

At lots of less "exclusive" universities access is really not an issue. They
have open doors to their libraries, their buildings, and their classrooms to
anyone who wants to drop by. There's no ID check except to check out library
books or register for courses.

Is this really the best that can be said about MIT?

------
pdog
Taken massively out of context:

 _From MIT, I’ve dated the […] wrong guys. […] I got to experience the
fraternity life, being a “rush” girl, throwing rush week events, and taking
childish jabs at other fraternities. I even lived at an MIT fraternity over a
summer, as they [became] co-ed over the summer, and lived unofficially as a
resident girlfriend [passed around???] during other times. You gave me the
best times of my life at MIT. I got to party [what kind of parties???] with
people […] and all the while had substance[s]. [I saw] your students […] from
two o’clock a.m. to sunrise. [I] will be secretly thinking about all the
people [I've] dated while [I'm] saying [my] wedding vows._

~~~
zacharycohn
What value does any of this add?

~~~
pdog
Whatever.

