During the Era of Creation, it would be customary for cyberneticists to welcome a new neuromorph into the world by smashing a computing peripheral, preferably a keyboard, across its robotic chassis. This tradition can be traced back to the invention of the first neuromorph, in which a horrified, startled cyberneticist wacked a keyboard across a moving robot before realizing the success of the experiment. The tradition is universal to the scientific community, even where governments and administrators condemn the practice.

Most cybernetics labs had a designated, battle-scarred keyboard nicknamed the smasher. New hires were forced to work with the smasher for a while as part of a common hazing ritual.