MIT's Charm School For Geeks Turns 20

Hugh Pickens writes writes "It's been said that social graces may be just as important as intelligence and engineering prowess to success as an astrophysicist or computer engineer. But how do you take someone who's grown up in the world of pocket protectors and get them thinking about suits, bow ties and the proper way to hold a wine glass. Now Jennifer Lawinski reports that MIT's Charm School just celebrated its 20th birthday with classes in alcohol and gym etiquette, how to dress for work and how to visit a contemporary art museum. 'We're giving our students the tools to be productive members of society, to be the whole package,' says Alana Hamlett. 'It gets them thinking about who they are and what their impact and effect is, whether they're working on a team in an engineering company, or in a small group on a project, or interviewing for a job.' At this year's Charm School students were free to drop in and participate in any of the 20-minute mini-courses being offered that day and students who participated in 10 of the mini-courses were awarded doctorates of charm. Computational biology graduate student Asa Adadey said the free meal was a draw and said he learned in one mini-course not to cut up all his meat at once before eating it. 'Who knows? Down the line I may find myself at a formal dinner.'"

Comments

Re:You would think this is parody

[definate]

Thanks for the review. Everything you've written makes MIT sound like an excellent school. One where you go to do some serious learnings, instead of just fuck around.

What other universities are like this?

Charm school? Really?

[Thomasje]

We've managed to get to the point where it's no longer mandatory for women to wear dresses and high heels everywhere. Can we please move on and also stop requiring men to wear suits and ties? If you're looking for an engineer, look for an engineering degree. If you want to hire a model, look for someone who looks good in a suit. Confusing the two is just unprofessional.

Re:Charm school? Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone looks good in a suit that fits. That's the entire point of the suit. It's the culmination of hundreds of years of mens' clothing traditions. If you choose to wear something other than a suit, you're choosing to make your appearance suboptimal. Which is often okay, but why would you do it when it actually matters what you look like?

I don't understand the nerd hatred of suits and ties at all. Learn to nerd out about fabrics and patterns and all the little details that distinguish a good suit from a bad one, then maybe you'll get into it.

Re:Charm school? Really?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're going to have a hard time putting together an outfit that looks as good as your bog standard suit. Why bother when you don't even have to think about it? Suit, shoes that are black or brown and not horrible, shirt that's lighter than the suit and doesn't clash, tie that's darker than the shirt and doesn't clash. Done. Ten seconds of thought and you're all but guaranteed to be the best-looking guy in the room, and that matters. It's a wonderful tool for men, you should be grateful for it. Imagine being a woman and wanting to dress up, it would be an absolute nightmare.

Corporate identity is nonsense. Maybe it shouldn't matter what you look like, but it does. Dressing appropriately shows that you recognise those realities even if you don't necessarily approve of them. And seriously why would you not want to look like hot shit in a sharp suit??

Re:Charm school? Really?

[Solandri]

Ah, a perfect candidate for charm school. It started as an IAP course the year before I arrived at MIT. It's meant for people exactly like you and me - those who see no redeeming value in the web of social customs, rituals, and taboos which 95% of society adheres to. While it's certainly possible to reject these social norms (Hughes, Zuckerberg, Elvis in the years before he died, Liberace, etc), you usually have to be important, rich, or famous to get away with it. For most people, even MIT grads, not conforming to these norms will get people thinking you're eccentric or weird at best, a misfit or an outcast at worst. Even if they treat you like a peer to your face, they'll still be saying that about you behind your back.

The examples cited in TFA were a bit toward the officious end. Most of it is pretty mundane stuff, like the importance of daily hygiene, what's expected on a date, when you're expected to wear a tie, etc. Stuff that "normal" folks all picked up during K-12, but people like you and me always considered unimportant so never bothered learning in our 18 years before arriving at college.

Because most of this stuff is learned from interacting with other people as you're growing up, it's difficult to find it all consolidated into one place for quick and easy consumption. That's what charm school does - it's a crash course in everything we ignored our friends gossiping about while we were growing up. We may think these social rules are silly and pointless, but we are the exception. The vast majority of the population thinks it's important for some reason. So you can either reject it and be an outcast, or you can learn to emulate the less annoying parts of it and fit in better.

Re:Probably Won't Help Much

[tbird81]

I suspect the reason most nerds are bad at social etiquette simply because they don't see the point and don't care. It's a waste of time and/or something beneath their intellectual pursuits.

You'd be incorrect. Most people want to fit in, and be normal - these things actually require a type of thinking that nerds are not particularly good at. It's a rationalisation to just sulk and say "I don't care anyway".

Re:You would think this is parody

[Anonymous Coward]

What other universities are like this?

Not many. All the ones I've seen expect their students to be smart enough to know how to eat a meal in a nice restaurant, tie a tie and wear a suit. In fact at places like Cambridge an Oxford you had better have figured that out by the interview. In fact the description of the school makes MIT sound more like a special needs institute than a university.