[1701] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: [Mit-talk] Re: [Sponge-talk] dollar bill mural
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Andrew Lukmann)
Wed Dec 14 17:59:40 2005
Date: Wed, 14 Dec 2005 17:55:06 -0500
From: Andrew Lukmann <lukymann@mit.edu>
To: Jeff Roberts <thejoker@alum.mit.edu>
In-Reply-To: <b82503c90512141442h13da44bcx18ea23547e01238d@mail.gmail.com>
cc: Cathy Zhang <zhangc@mit.edu>
cc: mit-talk@mit.edu
cc: "Sponge-Talk@mit.edu" <sponge-talk@mit.edu>
Errors-To: mit-talk-bounces@mit.edu
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Is that really a hack?
How does one begin to define a hack anyway, inpermanence does seem to be
one of the defining characteristics in my mind...
At what point does a fraternity prank like the smoot marks get defined
as a hack?
-ATL
Jeff Roberts wrote:
>Touche.
>
>On 12/14/05, Cathy Zhang <zhangc@mit.edu> wrote:
>
>
>>Pardon, but hasn't the smoot hack been around for a long while now? And
>>it's not like anyone's planning to get rid of the smoot marks...
>>
>>-Cathy
>>
>>Jeff Roberts wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>As a member of the evil planning profession I'm probably personna non
>>>grata in this conversation, but I thought I'd throw out a couple
>>>pseudo-historical, pseudo-spiritual considerations ...
>>>
>>>1. Someone mentioned the dollar bill being part of "hacking history"
>>>and that's certainly true. I'm no expert on hacking but it seems that
>>>there are virtually no cases where hacks last forever. They are acts
>>>of spontaneity and humor that have a limited lifespan, and then are
>>>taken down in anticipation of the next hack that catches people's
>>>fancy. Old hacks continue to exist in stories, and in the permanent
>>>collection of the MIT Museum -- is that where the dollar bill belongs
>>>now?
>>>
>>>2. Sure the mural looks cool, but will it really have the same effect
>>>if the cashier's office is no longer behind it? MIT decided it was
>>>time for the cashier's office to move on to a new home -- and students
>>>generally did not object -- so is it time for the dollar bill to find
>>>a new home as well? Should this new lounge space start with a "blank
>>>slate" allowing students to excercise their creativity in new ways,
>>>giving it a character more appropriate to what the space is used for?
>>>
>>>Anyway, that's just something to think about, I'm not really
>>>advocating for getting rid of the mural and I'm certainly not saying
>>>you should stop trying to save it -- I love it when students rally to
>>>save an important part of "MIT history", especially when they don't
>>>really know what that history is (anyone who's spent any significant
>>>time at the MIT Archives, raise your hand) ...
>>>
>>>Jeff
>>>--
>>>Drink Moxie
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Sponge-Talk@mit.edu - The reason Kevin might not graduate.
>>>
>>>
>>>---- For Archives & Subscription: Sponge-talk@mit.edu
>>>http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
>--
>Drink Moxie
>
>_______________________________________________
>Sponge-Talk@mit.edu - The reason Kevin might not graduate.
>
>
>---- For Archives & Subscription: Sponge-talk@mit.edu
>http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk
>
>
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Is that really a hack?<br>
How does one begin to define a hack anyway, inpermanence does seem to
be one of the defining characteristics in my mind...<br>
<br>
At what point does a fraternity prank like the smoot marks get defined
as a hack?<br>
<br>
-ATL<br>
<br>
Jeff Roberts wrote:
<blockquote
cite="midb82503c90512141442h13da44bcx18ea23547e01238d@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Touche.
On 12/14/05, Cathy Zhang <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:zhangc@mit.edu"><zhangc@mit.edu></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Pardon, but hasn't the smoot hack been around for a long while now? And
it's not like anyone's planning to get rid of the smoot marks...
-Cathy
Jeff Roberts wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre wrap="">As a member of the evil planning profession I'm probably personna non
grata in this conversation, but I thought I'd throw out a couple
pseudo-historical, pseudo-spiritual considerations ...
1. Someone mentioned the dollar bill being part of "hacking history"
and that's certainly true. I'm no expert on hacking but it seems that
there are virtually no cases where hacks last forever. They are acts
of spontaneity and humor that have a limited lifespan, and then are
taken down in anticipation of the next hack that catches people's
fancy. Old hacks continue to exist in stories, and in the permanent
collection of the MIT Museum -- is that where the dollar bill belongs
now?
2. Sure the mural looks cool, but will it really have the same effect
if the cashier's office is no longer behind it? MIT decided it was
time for the cashier's office to move on to a new home -- and students
generally did not object -- so is it time for the dollar bill to find
a new home as well? Should this new lounge space start with a "blank
slate" allowing students to excercise their creativity in new ways,
giving it a character more appropriate to what the space is used for?
Anyway, that's just something to think about, I'm not really
advocating for getting rid of the mural and I'm certainly not saying
you should stop trying to save it -- I love it when students rally to
save an important part of "MIT history", especially when they don't
really know what that history is (anyone who's spent any significant
time at the MIT Archives, raise your hand) ...
Jeff
--
Drink Moxie
_______________________________________________
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Sponge-Talk@mit.edu">Sponge-Talk@mit.edu</a> - The reason Kevin might not graduate.
---- For Archives & Subscription: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Sponge-talk@mit.edu">Sponge-talk@mit.edu</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<pre wrap=""><!---->
--
Drink Moxie
_______________________________________________
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Sponge-Talk@mit.edu">Sponge-Talk@mit.edu</a> - The reason Kevin might not graduate.
---- For Archives & Subscription: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Sponge-talk@mit.edu">Sponge-talk@mit.edu</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk">http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/sponge-talk</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
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