Earn a Pirate Certificate from MIT

[worldvoyageur]

TL/DR (but read the link, it's worth it): MIT's Pirate Certificate became available in the Fall of 2011. MIT students who successfully complete Archery, Fencing, Pistol (or Rifle) and Sailing get the certificate.

It was intended as a fun way to incentivize students meeting the physical education component of their degree requirements. The certificate does not entitle the student to engage in piracy.

[cgb223]

> The certificate does not entitle the student to engage in piracy.

Aye, but a pirate requires no charter to sail the 7 seas

[FrojoS]

> MIT's Pirate Certificate became available in the Fall of 2011.

Officially, yes, but as far as I know, it has existed there for much longer.

[IntronExon]

How about Privateering then? Fair enough if I can’t get a letter of marque, but I want booty and rum!

[anguswithgusto]

Okay so this isn't totally related, but there's something about the mélange between pirates and techies that just makes my heart sing. I get that this course is just supposed to be fun/a joke... but the cultural kinship between pirates and technologists is actually strangely similar. Maybe MIT isn't structured like a pirate ship, but startups most certainly are. Great read:

https://medium.com/@bagelboy/why-pirates-are-feared-5be709ae...

[skybrian]

Well, except for the part about being egalitarian. As an early startup employee, you get whatever you negotiated.

[startupdiscuss]

Don't steal this idea: a pirate certificate with advantages:

1. Anyone can get it, not just MIT students

2. It does allow you to engage in acts of piracy

3. Includes the accent

[koboll]

So, a letter of marque and reprisal

[themodelplumber]

Somewhere in Eastern Africa, a real pirate chuckles at the idea of earning a computer hacking certificate.

[Diaznash]

As a person from Eastern Africa, am curious why you chose Eastern Africa & not North, Central West or Southern Africa.

[majos]

Why on earth did they call it a pirate certificate and not a pirate's license?

[tzs]

A certificate is authentication. A license is authorization.

[pbhjpbhj]

You can be recognised as a pirate, but if you're endorsed then you're a privateer? Licensing them stops them being pirates.

[jere]

I would totally latch onto something like this if it were available to me. Not that there is any point to it, but chasing little achievements is fun. I took Archery twice in college and sailing sounds like a lot of fun.

[praptak]

Yo ho ho, the curriculum is lacking pirate speak, yarrr.

[failrate]

Although, the initials are PEGIR. If only they had been PEGR or PEGAR.

[znpy]

> Pirate certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities.

Lol / Too bad.

[wavefunction]

The idea of licensure for pirates or piracy is somewhat laughable.

[bitL]

Who would have thought?! I smell fraud!!!

[fencepost]

Looking at this makes me want to dig in and find out what locales in the US actually license exotic dancers, because (if cheap enough) it would amuse me to be able to say I was a licensed exotic dancer during Meetups and meet-and-greets.

I also think that such might be amusing to MIT students who pursue the Pirate Certificate.

[gumby]

With my physique this would be especially hilarious.

Although surely in some corner of the internet there's a subculture that fetishizes overweight, out-of-shape guys in leotards.

[stevenicr]

Nashville and Atlanta - under $200 far as I remember.

Cool laminated SOB license from Nash gov. :)

[heheocoenev]

I would go to MIT over other great schools just because this course alone.

[UncleEntity]

There's a physical education requirement to get a degree?

Me, straight out of the airborne infantry before entering college, would've just looked at them with a disbelieving look and laughed...

[gumby]

Actually MIT not only has a phys ed requirement but you can't graduate without proving you can swim. And it has a pretty active club sports program.

I don't remember folks laughing at one another at MIT since we were mostly misfits in our prior schools anyway.

Here's a telling anecdote: I was at prize day (pretty much only people who actually get prizes go so it's in a small lecture hall), and one student got a major athletic award, apparently having set various NCAA records (presumably we were in some very minor subdivision of NCAA but anyway). He was huge, and he kinda stumbled on the stairs as an athlete will, and when he came up to the stage he merely mumbled inarticulately. I was astonished: a stereotype of the dumb jock! Then last they gave out the scholar-athlete award. No surprise, it was this same guy...but in addition to playing three sports he had a 4.8 average as a double major aero-astro and physics. No wonder he was so quiet: his brain was super busy!

I felt really humbled.

[majos]

UChicago had one as a graduation requirement as late as 2013 or so, including a swim test (get to the end of a pool and back without dying, so not exactly evidence of swimming ability, but still).

[thesumofall]

I remember a talk with either Elon Musk or Peter Thiel at MIT who was given one of these at the end of his talk (instead of the obligatory flowers)

[oceliker]

They gave a “space pirate certificate” to Matt Damon at commencement 2016.

[userbinator]

Before I clicked, I thought it would be a course about the warez scene.

[orthopodvt]

Almost makes me wish I had gone to MIT instead of Harvard....

[booleandilemma]

Next we’ll have pirate bootcamps.

[SeanLuke]

Why archery?

[jere]

https://www.quora.com/Did-pirates-1600s-1700s-use-weapons-li...