To Punt, to Tool, or Otherwise...

MIT is a place of balance. For example, ART vs. FUNCTION. There was once some sort of Massachusetts ordinance that required 1% of all funds for major building projects to be dedicated to art. Because of this, our campus is dotted with arcane hunks of "modern art" scrap metal around the place, some displaying somewhat cool feats of design and engineering ("The Giant Sail"), some being just plain Ugly ("Transparent Horizons") (see this article). Sometimes these two qualities merge and make something swell (the Stata Center, Simmons Hall Dormitory), but there is a big divide between engineer's functionality and the insensibly artistic. Simmons, for example, was designed by an architect who had wanted giant concrete, free-form shafts to go up the length of the building and serve as lounges. Mr. Fire Marshal took one look at the plans and said "Flues!" Mr. Architect said "Fudge!" and consequentially divided the shafts up. He still insisted on installing bookcases full of holes, however...
Another instance where MIT totters on the brink of partiality: COLLEGE vs. INSTITVTE. Let it be known that we are here to work hard, and hard work we do. Additionally there are not many places where to plan one's Friday night itinerary, one must choose between hearing a presentation of ground-breaking research, seeing a play by a European Shakespeare troupe, or attending a lecture by the President of Rwanda. On the other hand, there exists the fourth option that not many people would believe prevalent at MIT: typical college behavior. The thing about getting inventive kids together is that they will throw increasingly more inventive parties. So far this year there has been an "Anything but Clothes" Party (my Canadian and Cuban friends were planning on wrapping themselves in their respective flags), a "Food Orgy" Party (lots of food, but you can't feed yourself!), and just this weekend, the yearly Reawakening Party (where the residents of 5th East Floor on East Campus reawaken their resident god Krotus, He Who Feeds on Suffering, by sacrificing a virgin). So yes, by day, MIT students are good little students. By night, the Big Bad College Mentality tends to shine through...
Last but not least, the most pressing, most deadly, and most precarious balance lies in the age-old battle of PUNT vs. TOOL. Immortalized on the Brass Rats of many subsequent classes, this is the balance that can make or break a student, and make or break it does. For clarification, PUNTING is MIT-ese for putting off work, studying, and any generally unpleasant thing, applicable in the sense of "I'm totally punting that P-set due in 36 hours--who wants ice cream?" or "I don't like the dentist...I think I might punt..." TOOLING, on the other hand, is defined as working diligently for extended periods of time, sometimes without regard to social, nutritional, hygienic, and sleep well-being. Tooling is very necessary in many cases, but getting into the mindset can be a difficult thing, especially when your entire floor is loudly proposing a trip to IHOP in the lounge outside. Right now, finding time to tool is where my difficulties lie. I must be a tool, but MIT is too fun a place to waste on studying...