This Article From Issue
July-August 2018
Volume 106, Number 4
Page 197
To the Editors:
Henry Petroski’s Engineering columns are always illuminating and entertaining. As a California Institute of Technology (Caltech) alumnus and a fan of the show The Big Bang Theory, however, I have to take a mild exception to part of his column in the March–April issue. In many episodes of The Big Bang Theory, it’s not important that Howard is an engineer, but rather that he’s an “MIT-trained” engineer. The rivalry between Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is legendary at both schools (stolen cannons, coffee cups, and T-shirts are just a few of the stories). I believe that the frequent references to “MIT engineer” reflect only the intense but very friendly rivalry between the two schools. Techer watchers of the show will also note other “inside Caltech” jokes.
Philip Laipis
University of Florida (Emeritus)
Gainesville, FL
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