Quote:
Originally Posted by M. Krass
The ends should not, in all cases, justify the means -- and I believe this to be a circumstance where that is true. Battlebots' popularity comes as a result of its focus on destruction and not for any of the thought or engineering that went into the machines. Creating a machine of destruction is not and should never be something to aspire to -- irrespective of the amount of thought, careful consideration and stress analysis placed upon it. A bomb that finds its target with pinpoint accuracy is still a bomb and I'm not interested in getting anyone excited about that sort of engineering. If that's what we're trying to do here, I'll go join a soccer team or something.
Using Battlebots' destructive nature to try to appeal to people, then "convert" them to the ways of FIRST later, represents a core disbelief in the value of this program -- and worse than that -- is deceptive and a colossal waste of time and resources better spent on the folks who're most interested in making things better for everyone.
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But you speak of only the beginning where there is also a middle and end. In the beginning people get hooked to the destruction etc., but after they do research and learn about it they realize (the middle) and than they respect (the end). There is a process of realization before somebody says "I want to be an engineer" and mostly those realizations are not because "I get to blow stuff up."
FIRST is not different from Battlebots* [IMO]. The skills you learn in each are the same. There is teamwork involved, there is a calculated risk (more in Battlebots), there is a strive for efficiency, etc. Honor, integrity, gracious professionalism still exist in Battlebots but they are not displayed on the playing field and are not "requirements" as FIRST makes them out to be which is even better because people choose to have some respect and honor compared to us in FIRST who are expected to have it from the time we start building to the time we pack the pit from the last competition. If anything they are two roads that lead the place but by different obstacles.
*Overall. I do realize that destruction vs live in harmony aspects of BB vs FIRST.
Pavan.