[Ken Leung]

Before Brandon close down this thread, I have a little request to make.

I would like to ask everyone, including the readers of this thread, to take a step back, inhale and exhale one big breath, and look at the bigger picture. I would like you to think: "Why am I doing this in the first place". (well, please don't actually reply to the question in this thread because there are countless similar ones in General)

What are you spending so much time in this program for? To argue with each other to the very end, and stare at each other in rage? No, I really don't think so, or at least I hope not.

Along with the spirit of Gracious Professionalism, FIRST and the rest of us are trying to teach kids that violence isn't a way to solve problems. Just look at how we've always been opposing to Battle Bot and how it's geared toward destroying of other machines. That is why refs have to worry about robots tipping each other over, especially with the ramp this year.

The game itself conveys messages to the participants and spectators, messages that demonstrate the ideals in FIRST. It does no good when all the spectators see are robots pushing each other over all the time. Similarly, it does no good when all the students see are them being DQed all the time. And it ESPECIALLY does no good, when we argue each other to death about what happened in the past, and only listening no one but yourself and those that agree with your opinion.

I wasn't at this event to witness all these. It tears me apart when I hear both side convinced they are right and the others are wrong. Makes me wonder… What have we, whether as mentors, or FIRST officials, or referees, or participants in the competition, done (or haven't done) that let this happen in the first place? What did we do wrong that made the spectators boo the call of the referees, and the students angry and left early at the event, and generally everyone else unhappy of what took place in last weekend? Why did an event that's supposed to be fun and inspiring to everyone turn into an arguing war on an online forum?

I don't suppose we will ever find the answer to those questions... Maybe we will never get those answers beyond the form of "it was horrible because such and such said this and that to me". Maybe we will be lucky and get a few silent answers in the form of "maybe it was my bad because I wasn't considerate enough". Maybe. I don't really want to hear those answers posted in this thread, or any other thread. I just want everyone to hear their own answers inside their heart, and actually believe the answer is genuine.

Mean while, I ask that FIRST work on their game, and the rules, such that similar events will never take place again. Whether be it changes to the rules like "there will be no wedge shape components on the robots other than for the purpose of manipulating the scoring object", or "tipping of opponent robots will not be allowed, be it accidental or incidental", or "build a robust robot and be prepared that your robot will be tipped over every second in the game". I dunno. I don't want to argue which one of those is right and which one is wrong, neither. I want people to think about it, and that's it. No more pointing fingers, no more quoting, and no more yelling.


At the end of this post, I just want to share a thought that's been lingering my mind in the past few weeks after watching a very inspiring show twice. It goes something like this:

"As human beings we should concentrate in taking care of each other, and the future generation after our time. We are now capable of feeding everyone in the planet and generating enough energy to use, and yet, every day hundreds of thousands of human died of hunger, and every day we worry about the potential dangers that could wipe us out in a mere 15 seconds. We no longer need to fight with each other just because there isn’t enough to go around. With advancement of technology, we can now do more with less, giving humanity a chance to evolving into something higher, away from what’s been happening the past thousands and thousands of years, away from the conflicts when people used to believe that the only way to satisfy their needs is by robbing others of that very same satisfaction.

In time, it wouldn’t matter how much we have at the moment. What’s going to matters is that we keep on going from generation to generation, and evolving to be better and better every step of the way.

When you eat cereal yesterday, the cereal becomes part of you today, and tomorrow it turn into forms of your body you will be abandoning behind. That cereal isn’t you, nor the skin or the hair you lose every day. When you lose 20 pounds last month, those 20 pound isn’t you. You are a pattern of integrity that exists because of the universe exist. Your mind exists only because your body is supporting it, but your mind is very different from your body. And one day, when your body fails to continue supporting your mind, you will disappear unless you are able to pass along a part of your mind onto future generations, a mind that’s built of experiences based on the all years you lived.”

I am sorry if that “thought” is a bit long, and boring, and unorganized. I wish one day you would have the same experience I had with life and everything in it to understand what I mean, but unfortunately I can only tell you, in my own word, what I think about, and what I’ve experienced. Sorry for wasting your time.