Latke vs. Hamentashen: The Great Debate 2007

Professor David Jerison (Mathematics) opened the 2007 Latke Hamentashen Debate with a presentation on "Hamentashen Homotopy: The Superior Form" to the delight of the audience that filled Room 10-250 on March 5. Jerison's strong opening was countered immediately by Professor David Kaiser (Science Technology, and Society) with his warning that the hamentashen's "menacing topology" had been the focus of the Atomic Energy Commission and "we now know what the 'H' in the H-bomb stands for."

The hamentashen team had strong supporting arguments from Michael Ouellette (Music and Theatre Arts) who reported a "secret, hidden code in Elizabethan writers" which supported the hamentash and Jeremy Wolfe (Brain and Cognitive Sciences) with his presentation on "The Potato and the Iconography of Evil." Rounding out the latke team was Steven E. Ostrow (History) who examined the reputation of the latke and hamentash in classical Greece and Rome followed by Joseph Sussman, (Civil/Environmental Engineering) who emphasized that the shape of the latke was suitable for transportation.

Moderator Donald Sadoway (Materials Science and Engineering) declared the debate a tie and called for a rematch next year.

Moderator Donald Sadoway confers with latke mascot Miriam Madsen ’09 (left) and hamentash mascot Sophie Rapoport ’07, debate coordinators.

Team Hamentashen develops their strategy for the rebuttal.

Team Lake poses with their mascot before the debate.

Professor David Kaiser’s presentation  linking the hamentash to the H-bomb.

A custom-made trophy is presented to each debater, crafted from actual latkes and hamentashen.

Hot latkes and succulent hamentashen for everyone in Lobby 10 following the debate.

 

 

Latke-Hamantaschen debates:
 - 2003
 - 2004
 - 2005
 - 2006

For more news coverage on the 2007 Latke Hamentashen debate visit these sites:

MIT’s The Tech, March 6, 2007 issue, front-page photograph (pdf)

MIT’s The Tech, March 9, 2007 issue, front page story “ Faculty Debate Jewish Delicacies”

Hillel web questions:
mlcar@mit.edu

Last updated January 11, 2007