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Originally Posted by sanddrag
This isn't exactly on topic but I think it is closely related enough that I'd like to add something as well. In 2004, we "borrowed" a gearbox design from a team in 2003.....
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In a way its more on topic than you realize.
Engineering and science are disciplines that build on the work that has been done in the past. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.
When most people think of engineers the idea that pops into their head is some lone inventor, sitting in his basement, coming up with a new mousetrap or a better way to squeeze the last oz of toothpaste from a tube.
But in reality engineering is very different from the lone-inventor. There are methods and processes for tackling new problems, ways to break down a task (like coming up with a strategy for winning a game) - ways to think up new ideas, and ways to analyse those ideas and proceed with the best one.
And here's the thing, these methods and processes are not common sense things, not something you would think of on your own. As I alluded to previously, its taken over a hundred years of experience, trial and error, seat of the pants work to come up with these effecient ways of going from an initial problem to an idea, to a solution that can be built, operated and maintained.
Engineering is a profession. Can you imagine a program like FIRST in the medical field? Would you have HS students performing surgery on animals, with no medical training and no doctors on-hand to learn from? We dont need any doctor-mentors, we can do a heart transplant all by ourselves? The result would be certain death for the patient, and the students would be frustrated, disheartened and discouraged.
I cant think of any simplier way to put this: the intent of FIRST is to bring students and engineering professionals together. How can you take the professionals out of the equation?!