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  • [MUSIC PLAYING]

  • SEAMANS: Good morning everyone.

  • We're here to tell you a little bit about where you are today,

  • and what will be happening as we go along.

  • I can't remember weather as gorgeous as this.

  • This is just spectacular, isn't it?

  • KEYSER: This area that we are in is known as Killian Court.

  • It was named after James Ryan Killian, class of '26,

  • who was the 10th president of this institution.

  • ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the academic processor,

  • led by the Chief Marshal, will now enter Killian Court.

  • SEAMANS: On the faculty I think we have 11 Nobel Prize winners

  • and four Kyoto Prize winners.

  • KEYSER: It's also remarkable to see the diversity in the MIT

  • community.

  • I believe 30% of MIT's faculty are, in fact, born outside

  • of the United States.

  • We think they're the best people world, of course.

  • SEAMANS: This again, is a view of the class of 1949.

  • An amazing percentage of them have come back

  • for the 50th reunion.

  • ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentleman, the guests of honor,

  • the class of 1999.

  • SEAMANS: They're being led by Ros Williams,

  • she is the Dean of Student Affairs at MIT.

  • She has a baton in her hand.

  • KEYSER: Both Tom and Ray Magliozzi are MIT alumni.

  • Tom is a graduate in 1958.

  • He is an economics graduate.

  • And Ray is class of '72, and he is Course 21B,

  • that was Science and Technology, one of the early Humanities

  • graduate here at the Institute.

  • A lot of people think they are MIT's most famous alumni.

  • SEAMANS: If you'll look to the dome,

  • you'll be seeing one of MIT's favorite places for hacks.

  • And if you see, they're two policemen up there now.

  • I want to assure you that those policeman are not hacks.

  • In fact, there up there to prevent hacks.

  • Because one of MIT's favorite activities

  • was to do a hack during commencement.

  • KEYSER: I think we're about to begin.

  • D'ARBELOFF: Corporation and the faculty

  • of Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  • will now declare convened, together with this assembly,

  • on the occasion of the commencement

  • exercises of this institution for the conferring

  • of its degrees.

  • The stage, assembly, and audience,

  • will please rise and join professor Ellen T.

  • Harris in the singing of one verse of the Star

  • Spangled Banner, and please remain

  • standing for the invocation by Rabbi Joshua E. Plaut.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING - FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, "STAR SPANGLED BANNER"]

  • HARRIS: [SINGING] Oh, say can you

  • see by the dawn's early light, what

  • so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?

  • Who's broad stripes and bright stars,

  • through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched

  • were so gallantly streaming?

  • And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

  • gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

  • Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave o'er

  • the land of the free and the home of the brave?

  • PLAUT: Sing praise on this new morning, for dreams fulfill.

  • Proclaim gratitude to the creator

  • for implanting in us a divine spirit to grow in wisdom

  • and grasp our potential at this haven of higher learning.

  • A new day dawns.

  • Challenges brighten the paths ahead.

  • Knowledge inspired and acquired here

  • shapes us into messengers entrusted with the supplication

  • to act creatively and responsibly.

  • At this happy juncture, doors swing shut while others open.

  • We strive to succeed in life, not always sure of our path.

  • Take to heart then, words uttered 2000 years ago,

  • as a guy down the high road of life.

  • Who is wise?

  • One who learns from every person.

  • Who is strong?

  • The person able to master one's temptations.

  • Who is rich?

  • The person who enjoys one's own portion.

  • Who is honor?

  • One who honors others.

  • Proceed now with humility.

  • Cherish morality.

  • Have faith in yourself and believe in humanity.

  • Pursue justice and promote peace.

  • Be courageous.

  • Remember, the world needs us to make a difference.

  • As we sing praise for this new morning, blessed

  • be the work of our hands day by day.

  • Joyously we welcome this occasion

  • with a Hebrew prayer of Thanksgiving.

  • [SPEAKING HEBREW]

  • Blessed is the divine spirit of the universe

  • for giving us life, sustaining us, and bringing us

  • to this joyous and happy day.

  • Amen.

  • Please be seated.

  • D'ARBELOFF: I am pleased to welcome

  • to the platform, the honorable Francis H. Duehay,

  • Mayor of the City of Cambridge.

  • It is also my pleasure to welcome Raymond F. Magliozzi,

  • Class of 1972, and Thomas L. Magliozzi, class of '58,

  • hosts on the National Public Radio series Car Talk.

  • The Magliozzi brothers will now give the commencement address.

  • You're on.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Don't crowd me.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Glad you could all come.

  • Shut up!

  • What's this?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Wait a minute.

  • I have to put my glasses on and everything.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: When this was announced in the newspaper--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: This happens all the time.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: This was announced in the newspaper,

  • and my daughter, my lovely daughter,

  • Lydia, who's sitting over there, called me and said, "Is this

  • true?"

  • And I said, "Yeah."

  • She said, "When is commencement?"

  • I said, "It's June the 4th."

  • She said, "Promise me just one thing."

  • I said, "What?"

  • She said, "Promise me that you'll think

  • about it before June third."

  • Which reminded me of that great old country music

  • song, "How Come You Know Me So Good When

  • I'm A Stranger To Myself."

  • Yeah, what do you want to say?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well, not much, actually.

  • I just wanted to say we are thrilled

  • to be here with you today, and we especially

  • want to thank Dr. Vest and anyone else

  • that he might be able to implicate for having

  • the courage to invite us here.

  • Now, I'm sure that--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: We figure this is a guy who

  • has an iron-clad contract.

  • I mean, you've got to really have 'em.

  • Where is he?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well, I'm sure those of you that know him,

  • know that he is a take charge, buck-stops-here kind of guy.

  • I mean I know that because every time

  • his wife Becky has taken her automobile

  • to our shop for repairs, he calls personally

  • to complain about the bill.

  • And you know, we were flattered to find out,

  • I think just this morning, that only

  • once before in the long history of MIT,

  • has the demand for commencement tickets been greater.

  • And coincidentally, it was when Abraham Lincoln

  • spoke to my brother's graduating class.

  • You know, if anything ever cried out for an explanation

  • it's, why are Tom and Ray speaking to us today?

  • And I will attempt, with the help of my brother,

  • to give you some kind of an explanation.

  • I think you deserve it.

  • You're going to be good?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I'm going to be good.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: This all started a little over two years ago,

  • we were doing our weekly radio show,

  • and I happened to mention, casually,

  • that Kofi Annan had been selected

  • to give the address to the class of '97.

  • Tommy says, "Kofi Annan, who the hell is he?

  • What ever happened to [INAUDIBLE]?"

  • And then he begins to rant, "Why did they choose Kofi Annan?

  • OK, he is the Secretary General of the UN, I guess.

  • But no one's ever heard of them.

  • Everyone's heard of us.

  • They've got to fly him in, fly him out, put him up

  • in a fancy hotel, wine him and dine him and do all that.

  • They'd have to do none of these things for us,

  • and-- and-- and--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: And what?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: And he's not even an alumnus.

  • Now, I will admit that I could participate, to some extent,

  • in his rant and rave.

  • I've learned, I guess most of the experts

  • agree, that when you're dealing with these irrational types,

  • that you shouldn't be too confrontational.

  • In fact, you should try to be a little supportive,

  • and then hope that the medication kicks it.

  • Well, hardly a fortnight passes and we receive in the mail,

  • from someone named Charles M. Vest, what

  • I would call a terse rebuke.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: It wasn't so terse.

  • Well, I happen to have it here.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Read it to us, please.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Which one is it?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: It's the first one.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Here it is.

  • "Dear click '58 and clack '72--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Ah-hah, now you know who we are.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "--I was sorry to learn of your disappointment

  • in not being asked--" You don't mind if we read these?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: We did clear this with your office?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: What can you do?

  • "I'm sorry to learn of you disappointment

  • at not being asked to deliver the main address at this year's

  • commencement exercise.

  • It had been my understanding that you don't usually

  • care for exercise, especially in the open air,

  • and that you therefore wouldn't be interested in ours.

  • On the other hand, as alum-knee--" yes,

  • I'm going with the Greco-Latin pronunciation here--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I think Latin would be sufficient.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: --"on the other hand, as alumni,

  • you will appreciate the fact we have some fairly eccentric

  • students and faculty here at the Institute.

  • So the idea of having to two gentleman as graduation

  • speakers is invariably floated each spring.

  • This year, as always, there was a strong, but murky

  • undercurrent support for you as commencement speakers.

  • Still, even your most ardent backers

  • had to admit that there was one crucial area in which

  • your qualifications could not match

  • those of your fellow alumnus--" he is an alumnus--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Geez, what does that say?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "--of your fellow alumnus, UN Secretary General,

  • [INAUDIBLE] Kofi Annan, '72--" He was a classmate of yours.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well, I was-- no, no, let's

  • get this straight right now.

  • I was class of '70, '71, '72.

  • So I couldn't possibly have know everyone.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: No.

  • OK.

  • "As you know, the United Nations has a really spiffy flag.

  • Because Secretary General Annan was featured as this year's

  • speaker, we have a legitimate excuse

  • to fly the UN flag on the dais, and also to hang it

  • anywhere else we wanted to.

  • You could imagine how useful such a flag can

  • be when you want to cheer up a drab corner of the campus

  • or decorate a really big space like an auditorium

  • or an athletic cage."

  • I mean these are the kind of criteria

  • that this guy Vest is using?

  • What the hell is he thinking?

  • "If Car Talk, or even Dewy, Cheatem, & Howe

  • had possessed a similarly attractive flag,

  • we might have been able to use you.

  • But as it was, we felt that we really

  • have to go with the Secretary General for aesthetic reasons."

  • Right.

  • "You'll be pleased to know, however, that Secretary General

  • Anna was a great success.

  • The graduating seniors were especially

  • moved when he describe his challenge at the UN

  • as 'a little like trying to climb Mount Washington in a '63

  • Dodge Dart.

  • He was also warmly applauded when

  • he urged the US Senate to give him

  • their share of the gas money for UN operations worldwide.

  • Thus, despite your absence, MIT's '97 commencement

  • was a smashing success.

  • Please rest assured, we'll keep you

  • in mind for future ceremonies--" blah, blah,

  • blah-- "if you ever do get a flag, let us know."

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, sure.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "As you may recall,

  • from your own graduations, the participants

  • want the speakers to be brief and to the point.

  • I know that brevity is not regarded

  • as your most notable quality.

  • "Finally, I would like to urge you to--" here it comes.

  • All that for this last one-line ending

  • paragraph-- "finally, I would like

  • to urge you to start sending us some really large donations.

  • Technically yours, Charles M. Vest.

  • President blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well, a whole year passes without incident.

  • Well, I shouldn't say without incident.

  • During that year, I think, just about every automaker

  • on the planet threatened to sue us,

  • but at least without incident with regard to this issue.

  • And then, last year Tommy hears that some elected official--

  • these are his words, remember-- from Arkansas,

  • who's been in a--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I don't think I referred to him as an elected

  • official.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: --a little trouble with the law,

  • is going to give the address of the class of '98.

  • As you can imagine, another rant ensues.

  • Well, it doesn't take long before Charles M.

  • Vest puts laser printer to paper,

  • and we receive another rebuke.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Starting to sound like a Bible story, which

  • I also happen to have here.

  • Chuck won't mind--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Do you?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: --if we read this.

  • "Dear click '58 and clack '72, I understand that you have,

  • once again, expressed on-air disappointment

  • over not being asked to speak at MIT's graduation.

  • Last summer I advise you that the chances

  • of being invited as commencement because would be enhanced

  • if Car Talk had a suitable flag that could be used to help us

  • decorate the campus.

  • I hear that you now have come up with a flag,

  • and that you thought this would assure

  • your inclusion in the 1998 commencement program."

  • We went out of our way, if the truth be known,

  • we got the flag yesterday.

  • But we told him we had a flag.

  • We figured he would be gullible enough--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: He went for it.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "Certainly it is possible

  • that a truly elegant flag, along with your accountable, yet

  • undeniable, popularity among your fellow alums,

  • might have gone a long way toward assuring a place for you

  • in this year's celebration, except for two

  • rather obvious problems.

  • One--" problem number one, he says--

  • "you failed to show your new flag to anyone at MIT."

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Minor detail.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "Now I don't doubt that the flag exists-- well

  • that's not entirely accurate.

  • I do doubt the flag exists.

  • But its existence does you no good if you keep it secret.

  • There is, after all, a reason why people use expressions

  • like, 'let's run this up the flagpole-- " blah, blah, blah--

  • and the reason is, very simply, that people cannot appreciate

  • your flag unless they can see it.

  • Now some of my colleagues have suggested that the Car Talk

  • flag may be based on some sort of advanced

  • stealth technology, in which case

  • I applaud your technical prowess.

  • On the whole, however, a stealth flag seems, to me,

  • a self-defeating innovation."

  • And he's right about that.

  • "Problem number two.

  • One of this year's commencement speaker

  • is the Honorable William Jefferson Clinton, President

  • of these here United States."

  • I paraphrase there.

  • "As the duly-elected leader of the world's only superpower,

  • Mr. Clinton not only comes with his own flag--

  • and a darn good one, too-- but he's even got a seal.

  • Talk about upping the ante.

  • Heck.

  • This guy brings his own podium, audience, press corps,

  • helicopter, you name it.

  • There's just no way for the two of you to compete this year.

  • You think you're disappointed?

  • Not even I get to make a speech this year,

  • and I'm supposed to run the place.

  • Nonetheless--" he says-- "I urge you not to give up hope.

  • Send us pictures of this alleged flag,

  • along with appropriate contributions

  • to the alumni fund."

  • Geez, will the guy never give up?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: He's like a broken record, isn't he?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: "Good luck.

  • I remain, technically yours, Charles M. Vest."

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: We got another letter, by the way.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I'm getting to that.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Oh, you are.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Don't interrupt.

  • After these two letters, of course,

  • Tommy continues to rant, albeit sporadically.

  • He says, "because we haven't been

  • chosen and been overlooked by MIT,

  • he's lost face and credibility."

  • You'd want to lose a face like this, wouldn't you?

  • Friends and neighbors have turned a cold shoulder to him.

  • His wife and kids of lost respect for him,

  • and barely to talk to him.

  • Even the dog won't play with him unless he has a pork chop

  • tied around his neck.

  • Then in the spring of this year, inexplicably we

  • received a beautifully written, I

  • would say almost conciliatory letter, from Dr. Vest

  • asking us to speak to you today.

  • Of course, we've lost that letter.

  • We don't know where it is.

  • But I don't know that Dr. Vest figured

  • that we would have the dignity, the good sense, and the respect

  • for MIT to refuse and to realize that the invitation was a joke.

  • Negative on all counts.

  • And of course, we accept, but we become immediately suspicious.

  • We start to think, how many others were

  • asked before they got to us?

  • I mean after all we knew-- and let's-- we're not kidding

  • anyone-- we're at the bottom of the heap.

  • Exactly right.

  • We're at the bottom of the heap, so they

  • must've asked thousands of other people.

  • So we engaged our crack detective

  • Paul Murky, of Murky Investigations,

  • to find out who was asked and the reason he or she refused.

  • I have the list.

  • Just stand back.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: What?

  • These are the requests that he made?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Yes.

  • Now do to certain treaty restrictions and other strip

  • protocols, we can't-- and time-- we can't read all the names,

  • but we do have a few that we're allowed to read.

  • And I will give you the name of the person who was asked,

  • and the reason-- my brother will give you the reason he or she--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I've memorized the whole pile here.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: OK.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Just this one.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: OK.

  • Kofi Annan.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, he said, been there, done that.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Here's one.

  • Oh, a duo.

  • Pons and Fleischmann.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, they said, very low energy level.

  • We can't.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Oh, one of my personal favorites,

  • Leonid Brezhnev.

  • I love saying his name.

  • Can I say it again?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, is it like, Arup Gupta?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah.

  • Leonid Brezhnev.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, he said he couldn't do it

  • because he was dead.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Let's see.

  • Oh yes.

  • Dolly the cloned sheep.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: She couldn't come because she

  • didn't have FDA approval.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: And last, but not least.

  • Leonid Brezhnev.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Still dead.

  • So then he got to us I guess?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I guess so.

  • And in spite of this news, we're still excited and thrilled,

  • of course, and honored to be here.

  • And after the euphoria subsided--

  • I mean after the euphoria subsided,

  • it began to sink in that we actually

  • had to give a speech today.

  • And I will admit that I was concerned, and maybe even a bit

  • worried.

  • After all, commencement speeches are usually

  • reserved for, heads of state, respected members

  • of the academic community, Secretaries General

  • of the United Nations-- but us.

  • Why us?

  • But my fears began to ebb as I weighed the consequences

  • of a poor performance today.

  • What if we do terribly?

  • What if we're incoherent, inspiring, uninteresting?

  • Be just like our radio show.

  • I mean, what could possibly happen?

  • I mean, what could they do?

  • Ask for our diplomas back?

  • They couldn't do that, could they?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I don't think so.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I don't want to get my diploma back.

  • I can't.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: No, it's holding up

  • the end of that table in your dining room.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Well after this epiphany,

  • I began to feel a lightness of being.

  • And Tom and I rolled up our sleeves,

  • put on a pot of coffee, and began the creative process.

  • Now he'll divulge the intricacies

  • of that process soon enough, but first, the warnings.

  • I have to move this.

  • What an interesting perspective.

  • I

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: That's good.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: You know, my brother frequently makes,

  • what I would call, offensive and insulting statements.

  • So my main function here today, other than introducing him,

  • is to number one, deflect any hurled fruit.

  • Number two, to try to prevent him

  • from insulting any religious, ethnic, or paramilitary groups,

  • to quell any civil unrest that may result from anything

  • he says or does, and to interrupt, and clarify, and say

  • things like, well, he didn't mean

  • to say that about every member of the faculty.

  • So without further ado, I would like

  • to introduce my esteemed brother Professor Thomas Magliozzi.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: That would be me.

  • Well, I mean, we had to use technology, actually--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Can I-- may I sit?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Ah, geez.

  • We figured-- I mean this is the world's foremost

  • Institute of Technology on Massachusetts Avenue,

  • and so we ought to use technology.

  • So what my brother did, actually,

  • was he requested from Paul Parravano,

  • who's, I guess, the second president-- the vice

  • president of MIT.

  • Where is Paul?

  • We don't know.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: They threw him out.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: He requested copies of the last 20 years'

  • commencement addresses.

  • We gave this to our crack researcher

  • Paul Murky of Murky Research-- brother

  • of the Paul Murky of Murky Investigations--

  • and we asked him to analyze all of these speeches

  • to find out if there were some commonalities.

  • And indeed, there where.

  • He used factor analysis-- which, of course,

  • 15 guys will understand-- and he came up with three factors.

  • Well, get this, every one of these features

  • have in common, a beginning, a middle, and an end.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Wow.

  • Powerful.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Well, this is good because we were so thrilled

  • about this, that we had made such progress, that we put it

  • aside for about a month, didn't have to think about it anymore,

  • then we looked at it one day and said, this is a little skimpy.

  • So--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I hate to interrupt,

  • but the good news is, our wives are not hanging

  • their heads in shame yet.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: They will.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Okay, go ahead.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: We figure the beginning, that

  • was pretty straightforward.

  • We could read a couple of letters from Chuck Vest.

  • So we did that already, and so that's done.

  • The middle, that was the tough part.

  • We couldn't quite figure what the middle ought to be.

  • But the end we knew had to be some kind

  • of inspirational thing.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Right?

  • That's what they all are.

  • So we said to ourselves, what do we know

  • about inspirational things?

  • It's so happens, however-- man-- it so

  • happens that we have, in addition

  • to Murky Investigations, Murky-- Paul Murky,

  • whom I just told you did the factor analysis-- had

  • been working on some other research for us.

  • And he and his lovely assistant, Marge Innovera--

  • Marge Innovera--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, they got it I think.

  • It just wasn't that funny.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I'll tell you the genesis.

  • It's interesting how research happens.

  • One day, I can't remember which one of us it was,

  • had come across, interestingly-- isn't it interesting, I mean,

  • coincidence.

  • We just had our little Hebrew prayer.

  • And one of us had thought of a quotation

  • from another great Hebrew philosopher Isaac Newton.

  • And if you recall, which you probably don't

  • because you're a bunch of nerds who only think in numbers--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Stop it!

  • Behave!

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: He said, "If I have accomplished anything

  • in my life, it is because I have stood

  • on the shoulders of giants."

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Wow.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: That's what we said, wow.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Wow.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: But after a few moments, we thought about a bit

  • and said, you know, it's one of those things,

  • you know, like George Collin, he says, it sounds good,

  • but-- And we wondered, is in fact true,

  • in all areas of endeavor, that people accomplish

  • great things because they stand on the shoulders of giants.

  • So we tell Paul Murky, do some research on this.

  • And he comes back to us with a couple of hypotheses.

  • He's a great researcher, this man.

  • The null hypothesis is, well, of course,

  • it applies to all areas, all endeavors,

  • because we as humans have been on the planet

  • for hundreds of thousands of years,

  • and we each benefit from whatever has

  • been done by our predecessors.

  • That's the Shoulders-of-Giants hypothesis.

  • The alternative hypothesis is, oh yeah!

  • The alternative hypothesis is it's not true.

  • In some areas, yes we do in fact benefit

  • from what our predecessors have done.

  • But in other areas, mostly like the human involvement kinds

  • of areas, we may, in fact, all be

  • destined to make the same mistakes over and over

  • and over again-- generation after generation,

  • child after child-- and so there is never

  • any giant on whose shoulders you could stand,

  • and therefore there is no progress.

  • Now there is an interesting set of hypotheses.

  • This one is called the "oh yeah" alternative hypothesis.

  • So Murky goes out and starts to work.

  • And, as he will do, Murky doesn't stick strictly

  • to what we ask him to do.

  • And one day we catch him, I think

  • it's called mucking around in the data,

  • and sure enough, he comes to us and says,

  • guys I have been mucking around in the data.

  • And I have I finding here that is

  • going to knock your socks off.

  • And I have to apologize for our visual aids here.

  • I did prepare a complete PowerPoint presentation,

  • and I asked for an overhead projector

  • and they couldn't find one here.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: No, I think they told him to drop dead.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Could I have slide number two, please.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: OK.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Chuck, come on Chuck.

  • We're on your buck here.

  • We're in your money.

  • Number two.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: What's the matter with number one?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I already used that one.

  • Well--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Should we turn it around so people behind us

  • can see?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, just turn it round for a minute.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: We'll be right back.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Don't fall of the stage, Chuck.

  • Now what-- those in the back with the cheap seats,

  • you can't see this, but it's very straightforward.

  • I may have to move over to this mic.

  • Does this mic work?

  • Yes it does.

  • Murky says to us, I've plotted something interesting here.

  • We're talking about basically left-brain

  • versus right-brain function.

  • He says, and while mucking around,

  • I find this interesting relationship.

  • This is left brain on this end.

  • This is a right brain on the right.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: And what's the y-axis?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Well, I'll tell you that.

  • This is a plot-- he did a regression analysis on this

  • with an R square of 0.99 and a significance of 0.0001--

  • and this axis is happiness.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Whoa.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Doesn't that knock your socks off.

  • He says, left brain, right brain.

  • And if you think about it, this is

  • sort of what we think of-- some people do,

  • at least-- intelligence.

  • So it's almost a plot of intelligence versus happiness.

  • And the news ain't good for you.

  • Because what Murky finds out is that right-brain people

  • are about 10 times as happy as left-brain people.

  • So the stupider you get by left-brain people's measures

  • of stupidity-- of course, because right-brain people are

  • too happy to waste their time developing IQ tests

  • but they're 10 times happier.

  • We say, whoo, Paul this is something.

  • But that's not the end of it.

  • Because we do what any good researcher would do,

  • we want to extrapolate.

  • And do we want to extrapolate in this direction?

  • Hell know.

  • We want to extrapolate in that direction.

  • So we say to Paul, if this really

  • is intelligence going in that direction, what

  • we need is dumber people.

  • Let's see if it goes on and on.

  • So, where do you go?

  • He goes to Harvard.

  • He comes back to us about a month later,

  • and he says it just isn't working.

  • He said, they're not dumb enough.

  • And I say, what do you mean they're not dumb enough?

  • They don't give me dumber than Harvard students.

  • And he says, people don't get any dumber than Harvard

  • students, but why do we have to limit research to people?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Can we put this down now?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Oh, sure.

  • Are you still there?

  • Oh I'm sorry.

  • So-- I'm just trying to drive the guy with the microphones

  • crazy.

  • So-- now don't go away we're going to number three.

  • We're going to be number three.

  • He says I can extend the research

  • to include other life forms.

  • And through a methodology which he will not reveal to us,

  • he was able to determine the happiness level all other life

  • forms.

  • Slide three please.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Slide three.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Three.

  • Slide three.

  • Here it is.

  • Here's humans.

  • And the best of humans, of course,

  • is the right-brain humans.

  • And here is what he found.

  • Happiness goes up-- it begins to look

  • like it's exponential over there--

  • the next happier life form is a golden retriever,

  • then a cow, then worms.

  • And he stopped his research at grass.

  • You can turn that to show the faculty because they may not

  • understand what I'm talking about.

  • Now--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Okay, we'll just keep going.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Here's the story.

  • I mean, what is the importance of this?

  • We have always thought that we were the highest life

  • form on the planet.

  • Turns out we are the lowest life form on the planet.

  • And I am going to give to you now a theorem which

  • will knock your socks off.

  • Some theories, you know, are just complete bullshit.

  • For example, the Big Bang Theory.

  • The entire universe is compacted into a dot.

  • It explodes.

  • Why?

  • Well they don't know why, so they call it a singularity.

  • That's like a bimbo saying, well it just did.

  • It explodes, and out of it comes all the stars

  • that you can see in the sky, all the planets, Madonna,

  • corned beef sandwiches-- now if you didn't hear that and say,

  • oh come on.

  • But I am going to give you the theorem,

  • and you're going to say, why didn't I think of that?

  • What does all of this tell us?

  • That we are not the highest life form?

  • This is the theory of reverse incarnation.

  • Some people believe in reincarnation.

  • And what they believe is that when we die,

  • we come back as better and better people.

  • What the theory of reverse reincarnation says,

  • if we are good people, we will come back as a golden retriever

  • then a cow, then a worm, then grass.

  • Now, if the reincarnation was working in the other direction,

  • coming back as better and better people, where are they?

  • Duh!

  • So it becomes clear that the theory of reverse reincarnation

  • may be the scientific finding of, not the decade, not the

  • century, but of all time.

  • Now, my brother and I, El Ron Magliozzi,

  • are going to help you to achieve nirvana.

  • We're going to help you to get to become not smarter-- smarter

  • is no good.

  • That's the wrong direction.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: You've been doing that.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: You have spent the last four, five,

  • or six years of your life working on the wrong direction.

  • You are sliding down, as Tom Lehrer says, sliding down

  • the razor blade of life.

  • You are sliding down the happiness curve.

  • You must stop this from happening,

  • and you must go in the other direction,

  • and we are here to help you.

  • And as you know, there is a process for reaching nirvana,

  • and we are going to give it you now.

  • It is this.

  • You must repeat the mantra.

  • And the mantra, which happens to be emblazoned

  • on our flag, which stands here-- none of you morons

  • will be able to read it because it's in Latin.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: It says, "non impediti ratione cogiatatonis."

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Which, of course, mean "unencumbered

  • by the thought process."

  • Now, I am going to give you a very brief history of how

  • this mantra has helped me.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I can't wait.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: If you repeat this mantra, what happens

  • is everything slows down.

  • Life slows down.

  • Being unencumbered by the thought process

  • allows you to identify and hear in

  • see defining moments in your life, things

  • that will change your life.

  • Unencumbered by the thought process.

  • You say it over and over again.

  • And as everything slows down and begins to stop-- we call these,

  • by the way, moments of inertia--

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Oh, God is that bad.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I had to use it, though.

  • I had to.

  • I was once trapped by the scientific logic left-brain

  • life.

  • I graduated from here and I went to work as an engineer.

  • And I will tell you about my defining moment.

  • I was driving-- I lived in Cambridge

  • at the time-- I was driving from Cambridge

  • to my job in Foxborough, Massachusetts,

  • and I was driving in a little MG, weighed about 50 pounds.

  • And on Route 128 I was cut-off by a semi.

  • And I almost, as they say, bought the farm.

  • And, as I continued my drive, I said to myself,

  • if I had, in fact, bought the farm out there in Route 128,

  • how ticked off would I be that I had spent all my life,

  • that I can remember, at least-- going to this job,

  • living a life of quiet desperation.

  • So I pulled into the parking lot,

  • walked into my boss' office, and I quit on the spot.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: See now most people would have just bought

  • a bigger car.

  • So act now.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Yeah, see.

  • That those people would have been using their left brains.

  • I had been saying my mantra in the car.

  • That's why that guy cut me off.

  • I think I cut him off.

  • In any event, I quit my job.

  • I became a bum.

  • I spent two years sitting in Harvard Square drinking coffee.

  • I invented the concept of the Do-It-Yourself auto repair

  • shop.

  • And I met my lovely wife.

  • None of which would have happened if I

  • had been using my left brain.

  • My second great defining moment came-- also

  • showing the power of the mantra, unencumbered by the thought

  • process-- I was having an argument with my lovely wife

  • one day.

  • I mean, how can you argue with such a wonderful person?

  • Well, left-brain people do that.

  • Because all they can think of is, this is an argument.

  • This person's over here, and I'm over here,

  • and I am going to use every ounce of logic and skill

  • that I have so I can win this argument.

  • And my wife says to me, do you want

  • to be right or do you want to be happy?

  • Holy shit says I. I wanted to be happy.

  • So now I have reached nirvana, and my brother and I

  • can help you to reach it.

  • If you want to repeat after me-- unencumbered

  • by the thought process.

  • Say it.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: You may have to stand for this.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Unencumbered by the thought process.

  • Louder, come on.

  • Unencumbered by the thought process.

  • One more time.

  • Unencumbered by the thought process.

  • Follow us, my children, to happiness.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Ah yes.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Are there any questions?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Thank you.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Are you happy?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I'm excited.

  • Thank you Professor Wagstaff.

  • That was most informative.

  • You know, that does remind me of a famous Latin expression.

  • Caesar si viveret ad remum dareris.

  • Which means, if Caesar were alive,

  • you'd be changed to an oar.

  • Look, we won't belabor this anymore than we have to,

  • but this is the part of the address where

  • we're supposed to say something meaningful

  • and impart some words of wisdom.

  • What?

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: What did I just do?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: We're not sure.

  • But I'm not sure that we're in position of any wisdom,

  • but we never let that stop us.

  • So listen up I'm going to say this a few times.

  • Today you will receive a document

  • that states that you've earned a degree, or maybe degrees,

  • from MIT.

  • You know, you've worked hard, and you

  • should feel a great sense of accomplishment.

  • I know I did.

  • And most of you will leave here today

  • with a pretty good idea of where you're going

  • and what you're going to do.

  • Some of you have no clue, and you'll just

  • have to move back in with your parents--

  • if they haven't rented out your room already.

  • But others among you may have charted a course,

  • or had one charted for you, that you know is wrong.

  • And you may feel some creative energy coursing

  • through your body.

  • Don't ignore it.

  • If you feel the urge to create and discover

  • and to do something that will bring

  • you fulfillment and happiness, do it now while you're young.

  • You will never have more energy or enthusiasm, hair, or brain

  • cells then you have today.

  • Do you know when Albert Einstein was less than half my age,

  • he was already world famous for his Special Theory

  • of Relativity.

  • When Isaac Newton was less than half my age,

  • he was already famous for having invented calculus,

  • and he pretty much had written your entire 801 physics

  • textbook.

  • Mozart, when he was half my brother's age,

  • had been dead for three years.

  • So act now.

  • Lastly-- I skipped a bunch of things because--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Thank God.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: I just want to encourage you to never

  • get so involved in your work, whatever it is,

  • that you forget to have fun.

  • You know, my brother may be right.

  • If you're lucky, you may come back

  • as a schnauzer, or a bichon frise,

  • but you may not-- I mean, with all this spaying and neutering

  • going on, the odds are getting worse and worse every year.

  • So have fun now and enjoy yourself.

  • And I'd like to leave you with some words of a wise man,

  • wise man from the East my brother and I know.

  • All wise men are from the East.

  • Have you ever met a wise man from the West or the Middle?

  • They're all from the East.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I think Spielberg's from the West.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: And this wise man is no exception,

  • except he's from East Boston.

  • And his name is Deepak Fonzarelli.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: He's quite a man.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: He is quite a man.

  • And Tommy and I go to him from time

  • to time to learn the answers to weighty questions like,

  • what is the meaning of life?

  • What are next week's winning lottery numbers going to be?

  • And we went to him recently, and Tommy and I sat with him,

  • and Tom asked him how he could attain immortality.

  • Deepak sat for a minute, and got up and turned off the TV.

  • Baywatch, it just ended.

  • And he said, my son, if you wish to attain immortality,

  • you must do the following.

  • You must work hard every day, seven days a week,

  • never taking time off.

  • You must attend no social functions.

  • You must not smoke, you must not drink,

  • and you must not go with women.

  • Never had received such a definitive answer

  • to any of our questions.

  • We were astounded.

  • And Tommy asked--

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: I say to Deepak, you

  • mean if I do those things I will live forever?

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Oh no my son, he said,

  • it will just seem like forever.

  • Have fun, enjoy the ride, and don't drive like my brother.

  • Congratulations.

  • T. MAGLIOZZI: Don't drive like my brother.

  • R. MAGLIOZZI: Thank you.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • D'ARBELOFF: Thank you Tom and Ray.

  • Any comments I make, though, are coming

  • from an unhappy, left-brain workaholic,

  • but I wonder whether golden retrievers are truly happy.

  • I don't know.

  • But I thought the speech was both inspirational,

  • but a singularity.

  • And I was nice to see brothers get along so

  • well, squeezed on one lectern.

  • Anyway, Brian-- now it's Brian J. Schneider,

  • president of the Graduate Student Council,

  • will give a salute to MIT from the graduate student body.

  • Following this, Miss Pooja Shukla,

  • president of the senior class, will present the class gift

  • to President Vest.

  • And then president Vest will deliver his charge

  • to the graduates.

  • SCHNEIDER: Thank you Chairman D'Arbeloff.

  • Thank you Tom and Ray.

  • I think it would have been a lot easier to follow up

  • boring Head of State or a stodgy academic.

  • Fellow graduates, today you are amid over 2,000

  • of the most fascinating people on Earth, discovers

  • and inventors, entrepreneurs and artists, designers,

  • and much more.

  • You can, and I think will, shape our world for the better.

  • I certainly hope so.

  • But have you gotten to know these people around you?

  • At matriculation here, they used to say, look left, look right,

  • one of you three, well, won't make it to commencement.

  • Now you're here I ask you, look left, look right,

  • is one of you three a future world leader,

  • a Nobel Laureate to be, or an internet trillionaire

  • in the making?

  • How about a budding radio talk show host?

  • As you leave, I hope the personal relationships

  • that you build with your MIT peers, both here and beyond,

  • will serve you well for the rest of your life.

  • To do well in this world, you and your colleagues

  • must tackle those problems which excite and motivate you.

  • Since MIT is fundamentally about initiative,

  • I urge you, and those around you, just to make it happen.

  • Thank you.

  • SHUKLA: Good morning.

  • Members of the class of 1999, welcome back to Killian Court.

  • As you probably recall, the last time

  • we convened as an entire class was August 28, 1995,

  • here in Killian Court, happy and bright, for the freshman class

  • picture.

  • Today we convene, happier and brighter,

  • to celebrate the completion of four tremendous years.

  • In the next hour, as you eagerly await

  • receiving that $120,000 certificate,

  • reflect on the intense bond holding our class together.

  • Reflect on the good times, reflect on your favorite class,

  • reflect on all the free food you consumed at senior Fridays,

  • and then start thinking ahead.

  • Let's be honest, we are an enthusiastic, energetic,

  • and innovative class.

  • Seniors, when you leave this court today,

  • focus on both the impact of our work at MIT

  • and the process by which we achieve this impact.

  • Each one of us has left our mark on the Boston, Cambridge,

  • and MIT communities, and now we continue

  • to leave our mark through our class gift.

  • President Vest, could you please join me at the rostrum?

  • On behalf of the class of 1999, I'd

  • like to present you and the Institute, the class gift.

  • This mug, and $18,700 designated to the coffeehouse gift fund.

  • We'd like to help make the student center coffeehouse

  • a popular social alternative on campus

  • through physical changes, addition of billiards,

  • an area for entertainment, and more.

  • This is only a start.

  • Over the years, we'll have more to come.

  • And now, a special addition to our ceremony.

  • MIT is well known for its unique culture and special traditions.

  • At this time, look hard at your Brass Rats.

  • And now, please join me in officially reversing

  • our special ring and showing the world a whole new side

  • of the brass beaver.

  • Thank you president Vest, thank you family and friends,

  • and congratulations class of 1999.

  • We made it.

  • Thank you very much.

  • VEST: Thank you very much Ms. Shukla.

  • Thank you for this magnificent gift

  • and for all that you have meant to us and the MIT community.

  • Once again, we are gathered in Killian Court

  • to celebrate accomplishment, heritage, and passage.

  • We're surrounded by parents, family, friends, spouses,

  • children, and loved ones who supported and sustained you

  • through the years.

  • You will recognize them today by their smiles, brought

  • about by their great pride in your accomplishments

  • and no doubt, by a great sense of relief to their pocketbooks.

  • Let us then express our deep appreciation

  • to all who have come to Cambridge today

  • to join in your commencement ceremony.

  • Will you the graduates please rise,

  • turn to your families and friends,

  • and give them the applause they so richly deserve.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • I want to tell you a story about an incident

  • in the career of Charles Proteus Steinmetz,

  • the great electrical engineer.

  • In the early years of the century,

  • Steinmetz was brought to General Electric's facilities

  • in Schenectady.

  • GE had encountered a performance problem

  • with one of their huge electrical generators,

  • and had been absolutely unable to correct it.

  • Steinmetz, as you know, was a genius

  • in his understanding of electromagnetic phenomenon,

  • and he was brought in as a consultant.

  • Not a very common occurrence in those days, as it would be now.

  • Steinmetz also found the problem difficult to diagnose,

  • and for some days, he closeted himself with the generator,

  • it's engineering drawings, pencil and paper.

  • The end of this period, he emerged confident

  • that they knew how to correct the problem.

  • After he departed, GE's engineers

  • found a large X marked with chalk

  • on the side of the generator casing.

  • And there was a note instructing them

  • to cut the case open at that location,

  • remove so many turns of wire from the stator,

  • and the generator would then function properly.

  • And indeed it did.

  • When GE asked Steinmetz what his fee would be,

  • he had absolutely no idea in the world what was appropriate.

  • But he replied with the absolutely then unheard

  • of answer, that his fee would be $1,000.

  • Stunned, the GE bureaucracy required

  • him to submit a formally itemized invoice.

  • They soon received it.

  • It included two items.

  • One, marking chalk X on side of generator, $1.

  • Two, knowing where to mark chalk X, $999.

  • Thus, Steinmetz left his mark in more than one way

  • in early 20th century technology and business.

  • You will do the same in the 21st century,

  • because you too will know where to place the X.

  • But Steinmetz lived in the age of iron machines.

  • Your careers will play out in the age

  • of knowledge and information.

  • 15 years ago, shortly before his untimely death,

  • the author Italo Calvino wrote six memos

  • for the next millennium.

  • In his memo titled Lightness, he put it simply.

  • "I look to science to nourish my visions in which

  • all heaviness disappears.

  • Today, every branch of science seems

  • intent on demonstrating that the world is supported

  • by the most minute entities.

  • The iron machine still exists, but they obey the orders

  • of the weightless bits."

  • The iron machines obey the weightless bits.

  • Indeed, your millennium will be quite different than ours.

  • It is already clear the 21st-century business

  • enterprise and other activities will be knowledge-based,

  • global in scale, fast-paced, and often entrepreneurially

  • spawned.

  • And MIT has prepared you to be leaders in such a time.

  • What will be required for leadership in the 21st century?

  • In some dimensions, leadership will have new imperatives.

  • In particular, a much higher level of technological

  • literacy and adeptness then in the past.

  • It will require an unprecedented level of agility

  • and willingness to change.

  • It will require a new level of understanding of and commitment

  • to stewardship of the Earth's environment,

  • and of our energy and material resources.

  • It will require new level of understanding

  • of cultures around the world, and of the significance

  • of technological advances to these cultures.

  • And I believe it will require an ability to analyze and confront

  • moral and ethical issues associated

  • with the advancement, deployment of new scientific and

  • technological knowledge.

  • Knowledge that is growing at a truly revolutionary pace,

  • particularly in the life sciences.

  • But at the end of the day, 21st-century leadership

  • will also require the age-old attributes-- respect

  • for one's fellow human beings, recognition of their potential,

  • and understanding of their personal joys, triumphs,

  • and tragedies.

  • It will still require an understanding

  • of the lessons of history, and the intellectual passion

  • and insight of writers and humanistic scholars.

  • It will still require the change of perspective,

  • and the challenge, beauty, recognition, and shock created

  • and transmitted by the artist.

  • And it always will require a good dose of humor.

  • It keeps things in perspective.

  • The setting of today's ceremony is

  • an icon of these ingredients of 21st-century leadership.

  • Look about you.

  • Art and continuity are represented

  • by the massive curves and volume of Henry Moore's

  • great sculpture.

  • Juxtaposed with a strong rectilinear lines

  • of this great center of science and engineering,

  • all representing aspects of discovery, change,

  • and invention.

  • And within this setting sit the remarkable members

  • of the class of 1949, leaders of the generation that

  • shaped the world of the second half of the 20th century.

  • But our future will be shaped by those

  • of you who graduate today.

  • You have joined us from all over this nation,

  • and from throughout our world.

  • You are the hand and mind and face of the future.

  • It has been said that leaders are

  • those who take us elsewhere.

  • You will take us elsewhere.

  • I want to leave you with a related matter to ponder.

  • It's the tension between the individual and the society.

  • Modern history has taught us, time and time again,

  • that centralized, planned economies and governments

  • do not work.

  • They have crumbled, leaving behind much damage and lost

  • potential.

  • It has been freedom, and individual action

  • and incentives, that have thrived and progressed.

  • The new jobs in this nation are created by entrepreneurs,

  • and many boats have risen on the tide they have produced.

  • I believe this will remain the case in the future,

  • and its marvelous to behold.

  • But there are functions that must be undertaken

  • on behalf of the whole.

  • Those who succeed and accumulate wealth

  • in the purported new economy must

  • shoulder certain responsibilities

  • in order to improve the lives of those

  • who have not fared as well.

  • There are responsibilities that require collective commitment

  • and action, whether accomplished in the private

  • or the public sector.

  • The world must be fed, the spirit must be nurtured,

  • new knowledge must be generated, peace must be maintained,

  • health must be advanced, the environment must be sustained,

  • and the young must be taught.

  • I ask you to think about these responsibilities

  • and incorporate them in your lives,

  • as you exercise your leadership in the gifted age before us.

  • And this age will be gifted by science,

  • and its advances will be made by the work

  • of the engineer, the manager, the architect, the artist,

  • and the scholar.

  • Many who have borrowed term-- this gifted age,

  • from Edna St. Vincent Millay-- not the least of those

  • who have done so is my friend Jack Gibbons.

  • Until recently, Jack served as science advisor

  • to the President of the United States.

  • And he took that phrase as the title of a book

  • on his life in science.

  • It's an altogether fitting title for such a treatise,

  • for here is what she wrote.

  • "Upon this age, that never speaks its mind,

  • this furtive age, this age endowed with power

  • to wake the moon with footsteps, fit

  • an oar into the rowlocks of the wind,

  • and find what swims before his prow, what swirls behind--

  • upon this gifted age, in its dark hour, falls from the sky

  • a meteoric shower of facts-- they lie unquestioned,

  • uncombined.

  • Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill is daily spun;

  • but there exists no loom to weave it into fabric.

  • Undefiled proceeds pure science, and has her say,

  • but still, upon this world from the collective womb,

  • is spewed all day, the red triumphant child."

  • Put more simply, and far less poetically,

  • this is what we are asking of you.

  • Look beyond facts for meaning.

  • And ground your actions and concern for consequences

  • and care for the whole.

  • As you leave MIT, consider what we ask of you

  • as leaders in the 21st century.

  • Our request, and my charge to you,

  • is this-- take us elsewhere.

  • Leave the facts of science neither unquestioned nor

  • uncombined.

  • Weave them into fabric and imbue it with wisdom.

  • Ponder the unthinkable.

  • Question the status quo.

  • Live in the world as well as in your own nation.

  • Welcome the immigrant to our shore and our lives.

  • Dream of a better future, but contribute to the present.

  • Share your talents.

  • Be competent friends and bold companions.

  • Address the truly important issues of your time.

  • Be honest in all that you do.

  • Do this, and you will serve yourself and your society

  • beyond measure.

  • Men and women of MIT, I wish you Godspeed and the very best

  • of good fortune.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • D'ARBELOFF: I depart briefly from our usual pattern

  • to recognize an individual who, today,

  • marks 40 years of conducting the music at MIT commencements.

  • His contribution to the life of MIT have been outstanding,

  • and we're grateful, most of all, for his dedication

  • to our students.

  • Please join me in expressing congratulations and best wishes

  • to Mr. John D. Corley.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • MOREFIELD: Please join me and the distinguished members

  • of the 50th reunion class of 1949,

  • as we congratulate the graduates and welcome them

  • into that most select company of men and women

  • who are the MIT alumni and alumnae.

  • [CLAPPING]

  • 133rd commencement exercises of the Massachusetts Institute

  • of Technology are now concluded.

  • And now would you please join the MIT Chorallaries

  • in singing the school song.

  • The stage assembly and graduates will please rise.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING - "ARISE ALL YE OF MIT"]

  • CHORALLARIES: [SINGING] Arise all ye of MIT,

  • in loyal fellowship.

  • The future beckons onto ye and life is full and rich.

  • Arise and raise your glass on high;

  • tonight shall ever be a mem'ry that will never die for ye

  • of MIT.

  • [MUSIC PLAYING - "AULD LANG SYNE"]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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