Mystery Hunt Day 1 by Matt McGann '00
Liveblogging the beginning of this year's campus-wide puzzling competition.
9:30am: I’m not blogging about admissions today, because at noon the 2007 Mystery Hunt will begin! I’m going to try today’s entry as a liveblog, updating this entry throughout the day with thoughts and stories about the Hunt, one of my favorite events of the year.
In short, Mystery Hunt is a weekend-long competition at MIT where people team up to solve lots of puzzles (which lead to more puzzles), with the ultimate goal of finding a coin hidden somewhere on campus. The only prize for the winning team is the honor of writing the next year’s Hunt. For some history, check out this classic article from Games Magazine.
If you’d like to try some puzzles for yourself, you can check out the archives, or you can try these four fun puzzles. People are starting to make significant progress on these four puzzles from my entry earlier this week. I’ve posted some hints and thoughts in the comments thread that might help. Don’t stop, you’re getting closer!
10:45am: A quick walk through Lobby 7, soon to be the site of the Hunt Kickoff. Right now, though, things are very quiet…
11:40am: I’m about to head to Lobby 7 for the Kickoff… we’ll see what this year’s hunt organizers — Dan ’03 (at right) and my old Baker House dormmate Jenn — have in store for us!
12:40pm: The Kickoff has ended. Here’s what Lobby 7 looked like during the kickoff (compare to the images from just two hours earlier above):
The theme of the Hunt appears to be — at least for now — “How to Succeed at the MIT Mystery Hunt by Being Really Really Awesome.” Here’s Dan ’03 announcing it in Lobby 7:
11:40pm: Wow, the last 11 hours of Mystery Hunt flew by. I’m about to go to bed so I can get up for an early morning (4am!) puzzle. This Hunt rocks, so far one of the best ever!
More news soon…
I found the coin…lolz
O god! I do want to play this game!!!(trying~tring~tring~to get into MIT!!~~)
If we’re really really awesome, can we change the poster to “how to succeed at the MIT admissions game by being really, really awesome?”
Hey Matt, just wanted to let you know I’M DOING IT! I’m heading up to Baker headquarters right now.
kiddie stuff man, why not develop a perceptual ground state and balance the coin’s strong forces into a quantum function and use a detector to search for such a quantum state!
game over!
But how will we know that quantum function if we dont see or have a coin! :D keep searchin!!
wow it looks incredibly fun!
Matt…I really need help right now
My application part 1 and teacher evaluations are all proceeded; but the tracking page says that my part 2 is not proceeded, and I couldn’t access that part as well. What am I going to do about all the information that’s in there?????I mailed the admission twice and no one ever replied me!! Thank You
hope to join all such stuff next year
Mystery hunt is wicked cool! I am so excited by the crowd. If I was playing, I would not sleep. I would be thinking of the puzzles all the time.
The game seems so fun and challenging. I should create something like that in my high school environment.
im up for it too bhushan …hopin to see a galore of scholars and genius’ from all over da world next year..hopefully id be one of them…god are you listening????????
i am
HA……..!HA…………..!HA…………..!
its awesome!
the above Godperson
I want to go to MIT just for IAP. Awesomeness.
Random unrelated question: My school automatically sends out an updated transcript at the end of the semester. Is that sufficient, or does MIT still need the Mid-Year Grade Report sent in?
Thanks!
dude, I want to go to MIT so much so that i can do stuff like that
HEY Matt,
Please start blogging about admissions for Regular Candidates. Things are getting pretty tensed and hot.
Hey I got my new blog. Anyway Another Indian, why dont you just turn your mattress into fireball. (What?) Hey I thought you were talking quantum physics. LOL. No Offence!
Mystery Hunt was amazing! Matt – what team were you on?
Those pictures are awesome. (I find it kind of funny that my team is pretty much taking up the entire lower left hand corner of the crowd picture at kickoff
)
can i send a Visual Bsic application that i’ve created in executable form or do i need to send it just the way it is….but that way the adm. office wudnt until 2009 be able to run it….what am i supposed to do…if i send it in the exe form wud the integrity be questioned//..anybody any answers …matt sir!!!!need help…..and is there any deadline for sending extra material that supports your application..???
and hey god i have a couple of other thigs to ask for….are you still listening to me…a mighty laughter…ha ha ha aha aha…lolzz
there is no deadline for sending the materials which help ur application
as on ur part i think if they wont be able to run it till 2009 wha………………ts! the use of sending prefer .exe format
i m still listening i m like ATL(any time listen)
ha ha hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahah …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
and also lolzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
You don’t have to go to MIT to join!
I second Yuri’s question: What team were you on?
I’ve also got some pictures up of the Manic Sages at http://ferrium.blogspot.com/2007/01/mit-mystery-hunt-2007.html
please answer if u hav 85 on TOEFL iBT r u auto disqalified
Int.-
Unfortunately, yes.
Take a look at Apply->Standardized test requirements. The minimum required score for the TOEFL iBT is 90.
int. dnt be disappointed if da rest of ur application is good …one score is nt goin to harm u…keep calm n best of luck