Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an independent, coeducational university located along the Charles River in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts directly across the Charles River from Boston and downstream from Harvard University.

It is one of the premier research and teaching universities in the United States and indeed in the world. MIT excels in science and technology, but is also strong in philosophy and a few of the social sciences

such as linguistics and anthropology. However, the science

and technology focus of the school can be seen by the fact

that it offers a single major in "humanities."

Its best-known computer-related labs are the Artificial Intelligence Lab, the Lab for Computer Science and the Media Lab. It is also known for its hacks or practical jokes, such as The Great Dome Police Car Hack. Resident hackers have included Richard Stallman, Gerald Sussman and Tom Knight.

MIT is characterized by a strong "anti-school spirit" which is in

strong contrast to other universities. The informal motto of the

school is IHTFP (I hate this f****** place). The strong antipathy felt for the Institute has a whole is in contrast with the strong affection students feel for various parts of the

school. The school has a strong anti-authoritarian ethos in which it is believed that ones social status should be determined by technical skill rather than by social class or organizational position. Many of the values of the institute have influenced

the "Hacker ethic".

There is a large amount of pressure in the classes, which have been characterized as "drinking from a firehose" or as "academic bootcamp." This results in a lively extra-curricular environment on Fridays and the weekends.

MIT students speak in a language known as tech-speak, much of the

vocabulary of which has entered the general vocabulary with the

increasing importance of computers. Classroom buildings and majors are always referred to by number.

MIT maintains a strong rivalry with Harvard and other Ivy League schools. MIT students tend to regard Harvard students as arrogant and more interested in social position than technically knowledge. Harvard students tend to regard MIT students as social maladjusted geeks unconnected with the real world.