Add Date Today The Weather MIT’s Today: Mostly sunny, mid 40s°F (8°C) Tonight: Rain, sometimes heavy, mid Oldest and Largest 30s°F (1°C) Tomorrow: Morning rain, followed by Newspaper intermittent showers, low 40s°F (6°C) Details, Page 2 Volume 128, Number 10 Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 Friday, March 7, 2008 Profs Debate Merits of Follett Is Fourth MIT Student Tasty Pancakes, Yummy To Star in ‘Beauty and the Geek’ By Ramya Sankar Pastries; No One Wins STAFF REPORTER Another “Beauty and the Geek” By Yuri Hanada The hamentash team won the coin season is about to begin, and another STAFF REPORTER toss (actually a ramen-noodle-package MIT contestant is ready to show off Mob psychology, a conversation toss) and charitably opted to let the latke his talents. with an intelligent computer, and audi- team speak first. Three MIT students have ap- ence participation all numbered among peared on the CW Television Net- the tactics used by six MIT professors Classical latke mechanics work reality show in the past, and Wednesday evening at MIT Hillel’s Dourmashkin opened by demon- Christopher L. Follett G will become Sixth Annual Latke vs. Hamentashen strating the sinking and floating prop- the fourth when the fifth season be- Debate. erties of the potato and latke, which he gins next Tuesday. Termed the “intellectual highlight kept in his shirt pocket. The differences “Beauty and the Geek,” allegedly of the MIT year” by moderator Jeremy between potato and latke properties the “ultimate social experiment,” Wolfe PhD ’81, Department of Brain were further exemplified by Galileo’s tries to play off the stereotypes of and Cognitive Sciences senior lecturer, breakthrough, where the scientist real- good-looking women and socially the heated debate pits two Jewish deli- ized that both fall to the ground at the inept men for audience laughs and a cacies against one another: the latke, a same rate. $250,000 prize. The show relies on fried potato pancake often served dur- Dourmashkin said that the phrase talent and knowledge contests that ing Hanukkah, and the hamentash, a “Your Latke,” often mistakenly pro- explore the audience’s preconceived, three-sided, fruit-filled cookie tradition- nounced as “Eureka,” is attributed negative notions of the labels “beau- ally eaten during Purim. falsely to Archimedes. Dourmashkin ty” and “geek.” Defending the latke were Peter concluded by explaining the associa- What makes a geek? The ste- A. Dourmashkin ’76, Department of tion of pi with latkes — and he added reotypical geek, as portrayed by the Physics senior lecturer, Stephen W. Van that the hamentash can only be associ- likes of Screech on the hit TV show Evera, Professor of Political Science, ated with the square root of three, “an “Saved by the Bell,” is usually a and Patrick H. Winston, Professor of ugly number.” gawkish intellectual. Follett begs to Electrical Engineering and Computer differ. He says he thinks of a “geek” Science. For the hamantash were Erik A project-based paradigm for as a person who is “really passionate D. Demaine, Associate Professor of pedagogy from pastries about math or science and is really Electrical Engineering and Computer Epstein spoke first for the hamen- good at it.” He finds it a compliment, Science, Ari W. Epstein PhD ’95, Terra- tash side with a presentation on “The and he says MIT is full of geeks. ERIC SCHMiedl—THE TECH Christopher L. Follett G will appear on the fifth season of “Beauty and scope lecturer, and Hazel Sive, Profes- So how does a “geek” get on a the Geek” which premieres Tuesday, March 11 on the CW. sor of Biology. Latke-Hamentashen, Page 12 reality TV show? For Follett, it was a little arbitrary. He was approached by felt rewarded because he met new lightly.” one of the show’s casting staff after people. The show “has opened my Reactions from his friends and his performance in the MIT Gilbert mind towards a group of people I family have been positive, Follett and Sullivan Players’ HMS Pinafore. would normally never be in contact said. In fact, his girlfriend encour- A running joke among the musical’s with,” Follett said. aged him to accept an offer to appear cast had been that Follett should take Asked if he would do it again on the show. part in the reality TV show — and knowing what he knows now, he said Follett admitted to having he did, after an audition in Boston, a “I probably wouldn’t.” But, he add- watched “Beauty and the Geek” be- videotaped audition, and a Los An- ed, because of what the experience fore, season two to be exact. When geles visit. taught him about people, skipping it Follett was a prospective freshman, Although Follett said he thought would have been a mistake. he met Ankur M. Mehta ’03, who be- the show would just be a “light “Being on reality television is a came a contestant in season two, and amusing experience,” he soon found very cool experience,” Follett said as he watched Mehta on the show. it to be more intense than he had ex- advice to future “Geeks” out there. pected. Despite the surprise, he still “It will be intense. Don’t take it Follett, Page 10 In Short ¶ Nobel laureate Carl E. Wieman Robert M. Wells ’08 ’73 will give a talk for MacVicar Day 2008 today in 32-123 from Robert M. Wells ’08 was sociable and per- 3:30–5 p.m. The 2008 MacVicar severant, always interested in making friends Faculty Fellows, honored for excel- and focusing his — and their — full efforts lence in teaching, will be announced into new things. at a faculty reception following the Wells, 22, who died of a fall this past Sat- talk. urday, “was a very likable guy,” remembered his advisor, Edward A. Gibson. ¶ The food trucks near Bldg. 68 Naturally gregarious, Wells made friends will be unavailable today because easily among the Brain and Cognitive Sci- of the groundbreaking for the Koch ences department. “I feel like he could make Institute for Cancer Research. The friends with anyone,” said Abigail M. Clark trucks will return Monday. ’09. “I enjoyed being around him.” Wells brought candy to office hours and ¶ Physical education registration “really tied the group together” when they collaborated, she said. One is now open. Register online at time, when a particularly tough statistics test was coming up, he helped a http://web.mit.edu/athletics/www/ group get through a marathon study session that lasted nearly 24 hours. physed/ before next Wednesday, “It’s such a cliche,” said former men’s water polo coach Felix Mer- March 12. Fourth quarter PE classes cado, “but everyone loves him.” “He had the best personality,” said Mer- begin April 2. cado, who coached the team in fall 2004 when Wells first came to MIT from the small town of Ballston Spa, New York. ¶ Campus Preview Weekend is Wells hadn’t done water polo before college, but he gave it a shot join- DHAVAL ADJODAH April 10–13. Register an event or ing the varsity team two weeks before his first semester at the Institute. A latke mascot (Matthew S. Cons ’08) and a hamentashen mascot offer to host a prospective freshman (Lindsey A. Pete ’08) duke it out before Wednesday’s annual Latke- at http://web.mit.edu/admissions/ Wells, Page 10 Hamentashen Debate held in 26-100. mitcpw/. It’s that time Comics ARTS / CA MPUS LIFE World & Nation . 2 again! Set your ‘Ask A TA’ gets an e-mail! Opinion ����������������������������������������4 clocks forward Page 5 Campus Life ��������������������������������5 one hour for Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest book Un- Comics / Fun Pages ��������������������6 DST this Sunday accustomed Earth is captivating Arts ����������������������������������������������8 at 2 a.m. Page 6 Page 8 Sports . 16 Page 2 THE TECH March 7, 2008 WORLD & NATIO N Senate Votes to Strengthen Democrats Seek Compromise Product Safety Commission By Stephen Labaton THE NEW YORK TIMES WASHINGTON To Seat Disputed Delegates Responding to a wave of defective toys and other goods, the Senate approved a measure on Thursday that would overhaul the country’s By John M. Broder caucuses of other states. The Clinton confidence after primary victories in consumer product laws and strengthen the beleaguered safety agency THE NEW YORK TIMES campaign is hoping she can translate Ohio and Texas this week, signaled that oversees the marketplace. WASHINGTON her advantage in the popular vote in that they were open to a re-vote under Besides increasing the staff and budget of the Consumer Product With the two Democratic presi- Florida and Michigan into a big share certain conditions. Aides to Obama Safety Commission, the legislation would create a public database of dential candidates in near-deadlock of their combined 367 delegates. were a bit warier, sensing that the complaints about products and empower state prosecutors to act if they and battling for every delegate, party The fate of those disputed del- recent change in the electoral and think the federal government is not doing enough to protect consum- leaders and the rival campaigns started egates has emerged as a battleground psychological dynamic could work ers. searching in earnest on Thursday for a between them that could be as impor- against him in any new election in If the bill became law, it would be the first major consumer product way to seat delegations from Florida tant as their next big primary battle, those two states, Democrats said. legislation in 18 years, enacted as federal regulators struggle to cope and Michigan. But they remained in Pennsylvania in April. But though In the contests in January, Clinton with the explosive growth of foreign imports, particularly from coun- deeply divided over how to do so.