You Know You Go to a Tech School When…
I don’t know what a typical college campus is like. Everything I’ve experienced at Georgia Tech is apparently not normal for a university lacking “tech” in the title. I’ve compiled a few things I’ve noticed around school for your enjoyment on this slow news day. I’m working on a Customizing K2: Part 4 but that will take a while, I didn’t think there was enough substance to the story regarding TDK shipping Blu-Ray media and I did not feel like analyzing the performance numbers of AMD’s new socket AM2 processor. Here we go. You’d be surprised at how much I’m not exaggerating.
You Know You Go to a Tech School When…
Internet Related
- There are more kids in your classes with laptops than without laptops. Your history professor has to be careful of what he says because Kurt in the front row with the iBook always has Wikipedia loaded, waiting to correct the professor.
- Students have memorized the campus Wi-Fi (GTwireless) network’s WEP key.
- Campus seems twice as populated when the internet dies.
- Students complain when the internet is slower than 5MB/sec.
- You can see 47 wireless networks in your dorm when students are forbidden to have their own access points.
- People don’t ask “did you get her number” rather “did you get her screen name?”
- Students (male) talk in real life like they do online. “That CS midterm was like total pwnage d00d.”
- When people talk about “getting out” the common response is something related to wardriving.
- The network can be slowed to a halt when it’s raining outside and everyone is online.
- One of the campus bus’ status can be tracked online so you know exactly where it is and know how much longer you can sleep in.
- Housing officials are working on networking the washing and drying machines so you can check your laundry status online. Unfortunately, crashes occur and laundry gets locked in the washer.
- An acceptable excuse for being late to class is “I was waiting for a download to finish.”
- Even the dining halls have Wi-Fi.
- Facebook stalking is a popular hobby.
Gaming Related
- The library holds a LAN party every year to welcome freshmen.
- Your roommates can argue about the ethics of a videogame when put into the perspective of modern day reality for hours.
- You know when there is a Halo LAN game being played because of the whole floor below you yells “TIMMY’S A TEAM KILLER @#*$#@#$#*#%!!!”
- Alcohol is bad because it slows down your reaction time in CounterStrike. Redbull is the answer.
- Class is always sidetracked when someone comments on the latest game and the professor actually has something to say about it, as he is a gamer too.
- Your professors know about Web 2.0, blogging and World of WarCraft.
- When someone talks about your love life, you immediately assume they mean your character in the Sims 2.
Assorted Geekery
- Everyone has a newer iPod, some sporting expensive Burberry and Gucci cases for them.
- Computer Science class is actually enjoyable with the students in front of you watching a new movie everyday.
- Asking the CS professor what polymorphism is results in a mass-mocking from the rest of the class.
- People actually wear all those nerdy shirts you see on Think Geek. I’m guilty of that one.
- Whenever a professor asks a question, at least one student yells out 42.
- When the professor does something crazy, like wear a weird hat from Mardi Gras, 10 kids whip out their camera phones to snap a pic. The photos can be found on flickr minutes later.
- Those same kids in your HIST2112 class made shirts with a picture of the TA’s face on it. They wear them every friday.
- Friendship depends on what browser and OS you use. Those IE kids get awful lonely.
- Nerds are separated into classes by their gadgetry. The highest level nerd totes a Treo 700w, 60GB iPod video, an ultraportable notebook running the latest Gentoo Linux distribution, a PDA with a processor speed of at least 400MHz, a 1GB or higher USB thumb drive on their keychain and a bluetooth headset with an annoying blinking blue LED.
- You always know what’s happening on digg thanks to the kids in front of you in CS2260.
- People have died taking up others on “I bet you can’t live without the internet for 3 days” bets.
- Most people have more than one computer.
- Your friend welds and builds vapor phase change cooling systems for high-end computers in his dorm room.
Campus/Academic Related
- Your professor and TA let you talk to them on AIM and give out their screen names in the course syllabus.
- The bowl of free condoms at the health center is never empty.
- The treadmills at the campus recreation center have TVs built into them.
- Your campus is roughly 70% male.
- Lecture hall seating is sporadic at best, with clusters of students sitting near power outlets.
- Students switch majors every semester after realizing they can’t possibly pass a certain required CS, ECE or other engineering course.
- You are “insanely smart”, or took many summer semesters, if you can graduate in 4 years.
- The sand volleyball courts around campus are only used for warchalking in the sand.
- When talking about your ECE course with a friend on the campus bus, the guy behind you corrects your comment about SR latches.
Add one more about LAN Gaming
You know it is the weekend when your dorm hallway has become an obstacle course of cat5 cables.
Tech definetly isn’t normal in any aspect, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, well except for the guy/girl ratio.
Damn it! I went to the wrong Uni… having said that, there aren’t that many places in the UK like that.
Put it like this- over here we think that 2MB/sec is pretty damn fast. On the plus side, we have women here.
Ah, great read. I can see how most of these things are true. Sure sounds like you have a great time on GT’s campus.
What a bunch of geeks!
Wow, I certainly wish there was a higher “tech” presence here. I loved lanning back at home and have begun to miss the overnight ritual.
I like Tech and all… but how I wish some of that stuff weren’t true.
Oh and Paul, I really hate to be the grammar/spelling Nazi again, but in your comment guidelines “cue” should be “queue”. :-)
Doh thanks for catching that… I think it had something to do with my having played pool around the time I redesigned. :-P
This is awesome, I can’t wait to go to university!
I wish Georgia Southern was that cool. We’ve got a decent IT building, but I’m an art student and I know more than most of our IT profs.
Man that sounds like the life… I wish I was surrounded by that much geekery. I’m surrounded by a whole bunch of med. related majors.
I think for the female applications at Georgia Tech, a picture should be included. Then a committee of 15 or so guys could decide which girls get to come here. :)
Great list though, esp. the campus related ones. So true…
I graduated Tech (CS) in 2004. Seems it has become a whole lot geekier since then. Keep on keepin’ on :)
Paul,
This was by far the best post you have done. Bravo! My college is filled with Med and Law majors. Wish I could trade the lot of them for your whole school. I’m so alone in CompSci here……
“Your friend welds and builds vapor phase change cooling systems for high-end computers in his dorm room.”
Wow! Who does that? Oh, are you talking about my boyfriend? Yeah…
Heh, Michigan is similar. Except you forget to add that we Engineering kids like to make fun of the Liberal Arts kids. It’s awesome when you see t-shirts like “Michigan English” and know that they are a joke.
You forgot to mention the general lack of, or at least comparatively low level of, freternity activities, sex and weeds.
Also, “friendly” pranks between departments and/or other tech schools (like MIT stealing CalTech’s cannon).
Management is the major we knock on here at Gatech.
Management? I also make fun of IE’s (Imagineers) and just about every other non-engineering major at GT. In response to Cindy, it is hard to get a party started when a good portion of the men would prefer to play Halo and even a decent portion of the already small group of women would do the same. Therefore at a school of 12,000 or so, you see the same people no matter which party you go to.
Christopher - You make fun of International Affairs and Japanese majors and you’re gonna get it, buddy.
Paul, we’re getting a dog - a cute one.
Also, guys at Tech complain about Tech girls in front of them, which is why they’re single, and some are just plain creepy - that needs to be noted. Beggers can’t be choosers, kids.
Great post Paul ! How I wish I went to a tech school…
Damn my locale, only 3 universities. And none of them are techs!
man! I wish.
Though I’m enjoying hanging out with the hippies, I feel vaguely hypocritical when I have my Arts friends, and computer science friends. Being a double degree is so tough! hahah.
Living off campus doesn’t help.
It’s definitely like that at Rice University. Good post.
“…70% male…”
Wow. “The ratio” has improved since I went there!
I guess you know you don’t go to a tech school when you don’t understand half the stuff on the list, and have to refer to wikipedia. However my school did just get campus wide WiFi this year.
Meagan: The tech guys’ (lack of) personal hygene level and fashion (non)sense didn’t help their chances neither, even though tech girls have a much higher tolerance than normal girls. The “best” dressed TA I’ve ever had:
has very long hair, tied up in a single braid, looking like it hasn’t been washed in a week,
wears shirt and pants with suspender,
wears tube socks over his pants, and
wears sandals.
Check if it’s a tech school: nobody laughs at someone dressed like this.
Bonus check if you go to a tech school: you find the attire acceptable and/or normal.
Double bonus check if you’re a nerd: you regularly dress like this.
Cindy, I got a kick out of that . Most of my Computer Engineering class either wears an AMD/Intel shirt or some shirt with a nerdy saying, especially binary and java references.
I didn’t go to a tech school, but I worked for the web department and we had our LAN parties and used the administartion server (quad alpha UNIX server to see how fast SETI@home can run on it and almost getting fired for doing so)…one of my CS prof’s went to GT and seems like he woudl still fit right in
Very nice list Paul. :)
I especially like the condoms and 42 one.
Have towel, will travel.
Haha! A very good read! Ill be joining GTech as a freshman in Fall ‘06. Im from New Delhi, India.
I wanted to take your permission to publish this post on my blog…You’ll be given credit, ofcourse :-)
Dhruv - You can write a description and link to this page but not post a duplicate or anything similar, as per my Creative Common’s license.
Sure thing, will give a link to this post in that case…
You know you went to a Motorsport school when you start wondering if a vapor phase change cooling system would be any good on a 20000RPM racing engine…
I am currently a sophomore in high school in IL. I plan on applying to Georgia Tech. Any advise you can offer? I plan on majoring in computer science thanks.
I attend Virginia Tech, and you hit it right on!
Acutally getting out is referring to graduating. Good luck on getting out of GT. I was a CS 03. Be honest with you, work is a breeze in comparison. I’m going for my MBA soon
haahaha i love this. It is all so true. Everyone says being a girl at tech must be great because of the ratio, but let me tell you.. it’s not. Most of the guys fit the descriptions above. :) But I still love it!
Not to forget the respect you earn while emerging out of vi Vs emac or apple vs ubuntu war on the school IRC/webnews.
You know you a math research major ( or grad math student) when:
1) your friends make jokes about how stupid tech students are, and how they can’t handle or create math proofs. Proofs are more fun than sex. You often think about proofs during sex.
2) when you have no clue about computer games and wouldn’t be caught dead playing one ( too moronic). You have never played one anyway.
3) People play chess and go at parties, or 23 dimensional nine men’s morris.
4) Your friends barely understand unix but they understand
infinite dimensional group representation theory–in their sleep. They dream in commutative diagrams with latex subtitles.
5) The fav tv show is Stargate because Samantha knows math–if you are female. Your fav tv show is Stargate because Samantha knows math–if you are male.
6) Your friends went with you to see ” The Last Mimsy”–on a weekend night. You all laughed hysterically at the mention of “tesseract”.
7) You are learning Mandarin to follow side comments at lectures. Or Mandarin is your natural language and you are learning your eighth new language. Or your natural language is tensor analysis on vector bundles. You were born speaking it.
8) Nobody you know cares about Wardriving or anything about it–but everyone knows who Grisha Perleman is, and many have read his work carefully. Everyone spells archive
..arxiv.
9) You and your friends have never watched Youtube–but you play Bach on the piano for amusement.Sometimes, for fun, you improve Bach using group theory. You consider this–like learning brain surgury–an amusing triviality.
10) When you feel burned out, you relax with something easy: like theoretical physics.
Feel Free to add more.
11) You have never heard of overclocking, or thumbdrives or 2600 but the NSA and Google are desperate to hire you.
Penny
“I wish I was surrounded by that much geekery” I’m a colombian first semester computer’s ingeneering, we don’t have thinks like that here. QUite a shame, maybe i’ll take a semester over there in my second year last part. Great post.
ROFL your list is great. I’m pretty damn geeky but still couldn’t relate to 25% of that. Now I’m wishing I had set my sights on GT.
When you hear a dude on the hallway talking about how his whole family died you ask him if he saved before (a Sims one). You can talk to a dude about 3 hours about how the damage of behemoths is calculated. You make all the people in the dorm angry when you trip the main power breaker (we fixed that one in 5 minutes in complete darkness, the next power outage affected the whole city block because of the unbreakable power breaker we created :))
Glad to see the CS people fear our ECE classes like us ECE people feared the CS classes.
Couple things you forgot:
The engineering majors making fun of those who jump on the M-Train.
The fact that feel dumber by just being on the management side of campus.
Professors will wear the same thing everyday for a entire semester.
Zipping your fly is optional for professors
You attend graduate school somewhere and think it is easier than your 2000 level classes