All Nerds Can Swim

I have two cousins graduating from MIT this June and one more going in this fall. Yeah, they’re all pretty much going to eclipse me in the business world within six months out of school. That’s okay. I’m the funny cousin. Anyway, one thing I learned recently about MIT is that all of the students have to pass a swim test in order to graduate. They require two full laps around the perimeter of an Olympic-sized swimming pool without touching the bottom or the sides. I can think of a few of my friend that would not have degrees if they had to pass a swim test.

Still, I think it’s odd that a school that prides itself on its brain power would require a swim test to graduate. Pasty nerds don’t even like to get near the water whether it’s the beach or neighborhood pool. Computers don’t survive wet conditions. This makes me wonder how many MIT alumni are involved in drowning deaths each year.

I wonder if they offer swim tests between the months of November and February. That would be intense.