MIT in Popular Culture - MIT As Metaphor

MIT As Metaphor

The use of "MIT as metaphor" is relatively widespread, so much so that in popular culture, "the MIT of" is an idiom for "top science and engineering university," or "elite technical institution," like "Cadillac of" for "most luxurious," or "an Einstein" for "intelligent person." Similarly, any regionally prominent science or engineering school is likely to be called "the MIT of" that region. For example, U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) touted the University of Alabama in Huntsville as a possible "MIT of the South." The Georgia Institute of Technology has also been called "the MIT of the South". Other examples, make "X is the MIT of Y" an example of a snowclone (a family of formulaic clichés).