Dome of Hacks -- Reflection

My oldest daughter received her degree from M.I.T. in June of 2013, when Tropical Storm Andrea worked its way up the coastline, dumping many inches of rain on us. They held the commencement ceremony rain or shine. By the end, we were all soaked, but happy.

M.I.T.'s iconic dome was the backdrop for this ceremony, and I did what I was told and stayed in my seat for this picture. On previous visits to the institution, I heard about student "hacks," most of which took place on, in, above, or near the fabled dome. To me, it represented great hacks -- an outpouring of harmless ("doing no harm" is in the written and unwritten rules, and students take great pains to honor it) creativity and problem-solving, a celebration of the very spirit of innovation and joyful making and planning.

As we sat there, soaked, I realized that the greatest hack was pulled off by Mother Nature that day -- dumping inches of rain on its captive audience as we sat in our folding chairs for hours. What a great hack!

Reflection Points: This PhotoSinryu invites us to think about the place of innovation and spontaneous joyful creativity in our lives. Opportunities surround us to do something about the problems we face in our everyday lives. We can often find solutions to the small problems ourselves. The big problems require collaboration, compromise, and effective planning. What little problem plagues us that we can attack with the intensity of a hacker? What big problem do we care enough about to find other like-minded individuals to help produce the "big hack?" Can we take that first step -- the all-important step -- TODAY?

© 2020, by Brian Kokensparger. Return to PhotoSinryu List.