U life

Oh man, what a blast! MIT and Caltech, two premier tech universities in the US have been playing pranks on each other for some time now. The latest goal was scored Thursday by MIT.

Reports the LA Times:

“In the ongoing battle of the nerds between Caltech and MIT, the latest volley has been fired from a 130-year-old cannon…

Massachusetts pranksters, posing as professional movers, stole the beloved Fleming Cannon — traditionally fired at each year's commencement — from the Pasadena campus last week.”
(http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-statue7apr07,0,2096065.story)

I just love it when the wits of youths are put to play. In this case, the rivalry is just tasty and engaging. There’s even a website that keeps score on Caltech vs MIT. Rivalry, as any mature person knows, is not hate. Far from it. In fact, MIT and Caltech collaborate closely on many disciplines, from jet propulsion to voting methods in the presidential elections, and the respect for each other is clearly mutual.

Pranks and rivalry as a package among universities is not uncommon. There’s Harvard and Yale, the classic being the giant ‘We Suck’ banner in 2004. I can’t recall any but I’m sure the Oxford-Cambridge rivalry must have had its fair share of thrusts and parry, perhaps over beer and sherry.

One thing’s for sure, clever pranks point to a fertile mind. A good prank challenges the creators and requires creative execution for it to succeed - in the recent MIT case, to ship a cannon all the way from coast to coast! And a prankster only preys on an equal with no harm intended except for bruised egos and bragging rights. Clever pranks, much like play in animal behaviour, are an indicator that a system is healthy.

Hence, a memo to the many Yang Amat Berhormats out to jaga the morals of this country: Get a life.

There’s honestly no need to play Head Prefect. Why are you people so sibuk in the running of our lives? The University and University College Act stifles wit and instills fear. And yet we want to be among the top in the world. Ptooi.

Instead of micro-managing trivial matters like whether ‘College’ought to be removed from College University because grads feel discriminated at job-hunting, or what is required uniform during convocation, or what you can wear while in campus or posting sentries at every entrance and dark corner (why are campuses in Malaysia like gated communities?), why don’t you just frigging back off and let college students be college students?

YAB-YAB sekalian, here’s a clue to fostering the growth of intelligent life-forms in this country. Let us think, let us live. Let us all have a life.


PS. Speaking of pranks, Jeff Ooi’s last week was a gem. (http://www.jeffooi.com/2006/04/to_the_dogs.php) Did I bite it? Hook, line and sinker. Still bloody gullible.