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MIT Pirate Certificate

physicaleducationandwellness.mit.edu

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Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#31

Post by dragonwriter »

pclmulqdq wrote: post #20
number6 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Article I of the United States Constitution lists issuing letters of marque and reprisal in Section 8 as one of the enumerated powers of Congress, alongside the power to tax and to declare war. It's still a thing

Reportedly the Russian government has issued letters of marque to hacking and cybercrime groups. I can imagine the same has happened in the US.

> Reportedly the Russian government has issued letters of marque to hacking and cybercrime groups.

Those would only be metaphorical (and even then not a particular apt metaphor) letters of marque and reprisal; a literal letter of marque and reprisal is to a private vessel to attack and seize property from enemy vessels, converting acts which would otherwise be piracy under international law into lawful armed combat.

Cyberhacking groups aren’t vessels, and what they are doing isn’t something that would be piracy under international law without being under the umbrella of government war efforts.

> I can imagine the same has happened in the US.

Not under US law (even if it still wouldn’t make any sense under international law for the reasons described above), since Constitutionally that would require an active of Congress authorizing such letters, which has not occurred. You can imagine what you want, but its simply not a reality.

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#32

Post by akomtu »

askiiart wrote: post #3

> The MIT Pirate Certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities. Jeez, what buzzkills.

Is the certificate recognized in major pirate organizations? Can you go to Somali, show the certificate and receive some respect?

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#34

Post by 082349872349872 »

Q. How do you know if the pirate you just met was MIT-trained?

A. Ask them for a probability density from the wavefunction Ψ, and see if they respond by hitting it with psi-stAARRRRRR.

(also useful: reduced Planck's constant or form evaluating to the head of a list)

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#35

Post by mminer237 »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #13
polygamous_bat wrote: post #4

Fun fact: registration for the classes required for the pirate certificate (sailing, archery, pistol/rifle, fencing) generally run out within a minute of opening. However, this being at MIT, I was never sure whether this was because of humans or bots.

I don't know why universities think the best way to decide enrollment is smashing the register button. My undergrad university had the sense to let everyone pick their first preferences within 24 hours of enrollment starting. Then for over-selected courses, people were enrolled randomly [1]. This was repeated once more, iirc, and then in the third round enrollment was instantaneous. This, thankfully, prevented virtua…

That also has the advantage of allowing the school to potentially open a new another timeslot for the course if they know there's enough serious interest in it.

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#37

Post by 082349872349872 »

eschneider wrote: post #6
askiiart wrote: post #3

> The MIT Pirate Certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities. Jeez, what buzzkills.

Eh, you don't need a certificate to engage in piracy. Also, do they have a Highwayman Certificate if you also make the equestrian team? Asking for a friend...

Combine the two and capture prize ships from horseback: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_the_Dutch_fleet_at_... ?

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#38

Post by Asparagirl »

mikrl wrote: post #26
askiiart wrote: post #3

> The MIT Pirate Certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities. Jeez, what buzzkills.

Who even gives out letters of marque these days?

A US Congressman (from Texas, naturally) introduced a bill to grant letters of marque to be used against Russian oligarchs’ property early last year, just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Alas, it did not pass. But letters of marque are still explicitly enumerated as a power granted in the US Constitution, and notably the United States was not one of the signatories to the 1856 treaty that mostly banned them.

And that treaty was the Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law, which came about at the end of a war for…Crimea.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6869

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#39

Post by xhkkffbf »

askiiart wrote: post #3

> The MIT Pirate Certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities. Jeez, what buzzkills.

Well, sure, it's a bummer. But one has to wonder why we glorify a practice of pillaging, raping and destruction. What's next for MIT? A Hitler Certificate? A KGB Certificate? A Slave Whipping Certificate?

Re: MIT Pirate Certificate

#40

Post by xhkkffbf »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #13
polygamous_bat wrote: post #4

Fun fact: registration for the classes required for the pirate certificate (sailing, archery, pistol/rifle, fencing) generally run out within a minute of opening. However, this being at MIT, I was never sure whether this was because of humans or bots.

I don't know why universities think the best way to decide enrollment is smashing the register button. My undergrad university had the sense to let everyone pick their first preferences within 24 hours of enrollment starting. Then for over-selected courses, people were enrolled randomly [1]. This was repeated once more, iirc, and then in the third round enrollment was instantaneous. This, thankfully, prevented virtua…

Or why not just hire more faculty and start up more sections? The students are paying huge tuition bills. Why can't they get the courses they want?

This is why I often tell everyone, not just high school students, to consider other marketplaces for information like uDemy or Coursera or any of the dozens of upstarts. They're sooo much better than old school universities because they're not designed to enforce artificial scarcity. There's no bogus song and dance for the admissions department and after that there's no limit on how many people can take the course. This is what the digital world has to offer and we should celebrate the unlimited access to knowledge.

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