BOOK REVIEW

Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT

Peterson, T.F. (2003). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

Price $19.95, 176 pages

http://mitpress.mit.edu

Review by Stuart Brown

President

StudentAffairs.com

Stuart@StudentAffairs.com

Posted: October 21, 2003     Student Affairs Online, vol. 4 no. 4 - Fall 2003

Today, the word ‘hacking’ conjures up a host of negative images--teenagers breaking into super secret government web sites, international malcontents wreaking havoc with e-commerce web pages, and even global terrorists seeking to undermine our computerized infrastructure. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) the term ‘hack’ or ‘hacking’ denotes a more benign connotation of “pranks and exploring the Institute” (Peterson, p.4 ). These are not just ordinary college high jinks, but ones that “include activities that test limits of skill, imagination, and wits” (p.4 ). ‘Hacking’ has been part of the MIT landscape for generations and now MIT Historian T.F. Peterson has compiled material from two previous books on the subject, including new material on recent hacks, to produce Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT. Filled with photographs, essays by faculty and students, and detailed descriptions of hacking through the ages at MIT, Nightwork is an enjoyable read about a tradition almost totally unknown outside the confines of the venerable school.

Hacking, according to Peterson, reflects “preparation, efficiency and whimsy…[it is about] stealth, not self-aggrandizement” (p. ix ). Protecting the environment surrounding the hack is also important, states Peterson: “The standards of contemporary hacking etiquette decree that it is also uncouth to create a hack that leaves so much as a disfiguring mark on its environment” (p. ix ). The book even contains the “Hacking Ethics,” a Ten Commandments-like list (even though there are eleven) of Hacking. “Be safe,” “Be subtle,” “Do not hack under the influence,” “Do not hack alone,” and “Use common sense” are just some of the guidelines from the hacker’s code.

There are dozens of pithy hacking descriptions throughout the book along with a more detailed description of some of the more celebrated and well-executed hacks such as “The Cathedral of Our Lady of the All-Night Tool.” The chapters of Nightwork are organized by the most popular campus hacking locations--the Institute’s domed structures, its “Green Building,” and “Lobby 7”—and other types of hacks such as “Hacking with Signs and Banners,” “The Architecture Hacks,” and “Hacks in the Classroom.” There is also a section on the never-ending battle to hack Harvard during the Harvard-Yale football classic. The ingenuity, planning and execution dreamed up to disrupt ‘The Game’ is fascinating as well as entertaining to read.

My favorite hack in the book concerns a police car facsimile, emergency lights flashing, perched 150 feet above the ground atop the Great Dome. Not only was it a stark visual for those gaping from the ground but, unbeknownst to viewers below, the attention to detail was exceptional – in the ‘vehicle’ was a dummy police officer sipping coffee with a box of donuts at his side. The car number was the symbol for pi.

Another awe-inspiring hack occurred in 1999:

Two days before the much-awaited Phantom Menace installment of the Star Wars movie series hackers turn[ed] the Great Dome into…R2-D2. [The Great Droid is] recreated in authentic colors using fabric panels and a painted tent to represent the droid’s holographic projector. Hacker’s thoughtfully include[d] detailed disassembly instructions addressed to the ‘Imperial Drones’ and signed ‘Rebel Scum.’ ” (p. 25).

My only complaint about the book is the lack of captions for all the wonderful pictures of hacking aftermaths. While the photos are described elsewhere within the text the account could come pages later, requiring the reader to stop, flip back and search for the referenced snapshot.

Hacking teaches real world experiences, according to Andre DeHon, a former MIT observer, and contributor to the book.

Just like in the real world, you have to find a way to solve the problem yourself. This forces you to tackle the whole problem, the whole experience, and it builds confidence and independence. They learn management, delegation, teamwork, planning, failure analysis and public relations. (p. 161 ).

It is a “socially acceptable form of disobedience,” (p. 163 ) states Samuel Jay Keyser, professor emeritus of linguistics. We can only hope that MIT students continue this form of disobedience so we can continue to marvel and be entertained by books like Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT.