Spreading Valentine’s Day love, MIT-style

Last week, the MIT Alumni Association asked for your help in creating a MIT-themed Valentine’s Day e-postcard. We designed the card and needed your MIT-inspired copy. Submissions were judged on creativity, originality, humor, and a connection to MIT.

After a week’s worth of entries, ranging from original poetry to mathematical equations, the Academy of Valentine’s Day Arts & Sciences is happy to announce two winners: John Springsteen in the “scientific” category and Brandy in the “romantic” category.

John’s won for his entry, “01000010 01100101 00100000 01101101 01111001 00100000 01110110 01100001 01101100 01100101 01101110 01110100 01101001 01101110 01100101 00100001,” or translated from binary code, “Be my valentine!”

The code-inspired text topped the list of technical-themed sentiments, which also included:

My x = 16 sin^3 t; y = 13 cos t - 5 cos (2t) - 2 cos (3t) - cos (4t) is yours. [graph translation] – Todd

Brandy’s entry, “You’ve got root access to my heart,” got the nod from the Alumni Association cupids for its touch of romanticism.  Other nerd-quixotic entries included:

I am, I am, I am, I am, I am an engineer When you and I superimpose, we really interfere No physicist, a bond like ours, could ever try define So two weeks after IAP, please be my valentine? - Murthy

I went to MIT and earned a degree, I am glad that I met you in 18.03, but even with all my HASS D, I am still no good at writing poems. - John

Will you be my Valentine At 2.14159? - George

The winning cards are permanently located in the ePostcards section of the Alumni Association site. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, these cards can be sent to that special Engineer (or non-Engineer) in your life. Happy Valentine’s Day!