QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!

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Posted by Andy Grady at 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST


Other on team #126, Gael Force, from Clinton High School and Nypro Inc..



Hi all, time for this weeks question...

Question 2/4/01: How important is secrecy this year?

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Posted by Brian at 2/4/2001 10:23 AM EST


Student on team #56, Robbe Xtreme, from Bound Brook High School and Ethicon Inc..


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



The Importance of secrecy is not what it used to be becuz you are working with everyone and not against everyone...However, building suspense is always good, but sometimes never racking, so as for my team wait till February 21...

Brian

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Posted by Erin at 2/4/2001 10:30 AM EST


Other on team #65, Huskie Brigade, from Pontiac Northern High School and GM Powertrain.


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



I am all for secrecy. I was a big advocate on both my teams- just saying things along the lines of, "don't worry, our robot is awesome." I like being secretive about it, becuase then it's like a big surprise when we are playing at competition (and that leaves less space for others to strategize against us). Remember, this is just my position not necessarily the position of my team. But then again, there are those teams who show us their pics, who just make strategizing more fun

peace, love and gracious professionalism
erin

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Posted by Tim Baird at 2/4/2001 11:27 AM EST


Engineer on team #190, Gompei, from Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science and WPI.


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



I have to agree with Brian on this one. Secrecy is nothing like it ever was before. It's almost to the point where allowing other teams to know what your robot looks like and does will help you both mutually in the comps because they already will know which robots will make a high scoring team in the finals. But, that's just my opinion.
Tim

: Hi all, time for this weeks question...

: Question 2/4/01: How important is secrecy this year?

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Posted by Anton Abaya at 2/4/2001 2:46 PM EST


Coach on team #419, Rambots, from UMass Boston / BC High and NONE AT THE MOMENT! .


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



: Hi all, time for this weeks question...

: Question 2/4/01: How important is secrecy this year?

oh it's not that big an issue this year. on the other hand, if i tell you, i'll have to kill you.

-anton

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Posted by Lora Knepper at 2/4/2001 3:34 PM EST


Other on team FIRST-a-holics Anonymous from . sponsored by ..


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



: Hi all, time for this weeks question...

: Question 2/4/01: How important is secrecy this year?

Secrecy is not nearly as strong as it has been in past years. But I also agree with Brian in the sense that a little suspense keeps everything interesting. The "teaser" pics that have begun to show up on the forum are great. You get to see the bots in various stages of completion and it gets your brain working )

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Posted by Chris Hibner at 2/5/2001 11:42 AM EST


Coach on team #308, Walled Lake Monster, from Walled Lake Schools and TRW Automotive Electronics.


In Reply to: QUESTION OF THE WEEK!!!
Posted by Andy Grady on 2/4/2001 9:33 AM EST:



Personally, I'm for secrecy until the competitions begin. This year people are forgetting that, while we are all on the same team during a match, we are competing with each other as soon as that match ends. Helping everyone do everything before the competition doesn't help you out in the long run (as some people seem to think it does).

Example: Let's say our team helps team 505 (made up number) so that they can now put 10 black balls in the goal instead of 5. If we play a match with them, then they help us out by getting an extra 40 points (assuming both goals balanced and a 2X time multiplier) for that match. However, every other match this team plays, we've given them an extra 40 points per match against us in the qualification rounds. This doesn't help us out in any way. In the long run (unless we play every match with team 505), we've hurt ourselves. (math: if each team plays 8 matches, we've helped them increase their average score by 40 points per match but we've only increased our average score by 5 points per match (40 points / 8 total matches). Thus by helping them, we've hurt ourselves by giving up an advantage of 35 points per match over this team. This could be the difference between making the finals and not making it.)

So, once the competition starts, I'll be very open about our robot. But until then, I generally keep my mouth shut.