WILL.I.AM's comment on Einstein

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Can you elaborate on your point here? I'm not getting what you're implying or what thought this should provoke.

What was your actual opinion on the statement?

Sure, I will be happy to, Akash.
I'm going to have a cup of coffee (or two) and put some words together in my head. I'll be back later on and will edit this post to add them.

Thank you,
Jane

Edit: I will keep this brief but, I will be happy to add more, if requested.

will.i.am was on a global stage with a microphone. Not just any global stage, a FIRST Championship global stage. That stage reaches through to young people of all ages, sponsors, world leadership, and cultures. Many many cultures. As is FIRST's nature, it continues to reach out to more cultures, communities, nations, sponsors, and leaders. It is moving toward being world centric.

will.i.am's outburst was sincere and passionate. My thinking centers around how his choice of words will impact students/teams/communities - based on cultural differences, globally. If it is just a simple outburst with no impact, that is one thing. If it becomes a hashtag and a tee shirt statement, that shows further reach.

--
This has nothing to do with my initial comment but, I find it very funny that the tee shirts will be sponsored by a pot shop. Just a few years ago, there was passionate discussion on these boards about soliciting sponsorship from beer companies. Wonder if we will have pot discussions.

Jane

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Can you elaborate on your point here? I'm not getting what you're implying or what thought this should provoke.

What was your actual opinion on the statement?

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Sure, I will be happy to, Akash.
I'm going to have a cup of coffee (or two) and put some words together in my head. I'll be back later on and will edit this post to add them.

Thank you,
Jane

Getting my own coffee now, and eagerly awaiting Jane's response. Thank you, Akash, for bumping this dialog.

[Tharioth Pillow]

A few things.

I don't know if anyone has brought up the fact that there were plenty of smaller kids in the audience... and I don't know if it changes anyone's opinion.

Personally, if you take out the kids, I think the majority of teens and parents share and don't mind will.i.am's blunt opinion.

Also, as much as this inspires and markets FRC quite well, did it really show what FRC is about? I don't think it fits in with Woodie's definition of Gracious Professionalism...

Please note that I'm not actually for or against Will's comment.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by Tharioth Pillow

I don't know if anyone has brought up the fact that there were plenty of smaller kids in the audience... and I don't know if it changes anyone's opinion.

That is what bothers me. Many high schoolers may use that language in everyday conversation, and if the crowd was just high schoolers and adults, I probably wouldn't care too much. I think that what wil.i.am said does resonate well with that audience (since that is also his target audience as an entertainer) - more powerfully so than a more PC version of his statement. IMO, when a statement is scripted, or said using language very clearly not typical of the person speaking, it's harder to believe sincerity.

But when a 4th grader goes home and asks "Mommy, what does that mean?", I can imagine that might raise some parents' eyebrows and a bring up questions about the type of program their child is involved in that has them picking up that language. I don't think that younger kids quite understand how big of a deal it is that a major entertainer just dropped an f-bomb on a world stage in front of a lot of impressionable students and sponsors, so the shock value of the language (which is what makes the statement powerful to older students and adults) is lost on them.

I don't think that his language choice aligns well with FIRST's image of a program that develops young, confident professionals. Yes, inspiration and recognition of science and technology is why we're here, but the behavior of students who participate in the program reflects on the program itself (just like schools are for teaching, but every time you go on a field trip, you're told "don't forget, you're representing our school"). That's part of what sponsors see when they're looking at what their investment in this program is helping build. Swearing may be prevalent in many professional workplaces (mine included), but is still viewed as unprofessional in many contexts - interviews, presentations, when working with customers, etc, and that's what gives it a bad rap overall. I'm not sure how to communicate how I feel about this other than saying "it just doesn't look good on FIRST".

It's great that wil.i.am has been supportive of this program, and I appreciate his support even more so after the stories about his enthusiasm that Dean told during his speech. I appreciate his frankness and his sincerity, but I don't think it was appropriate for the audience.

[dirtbikerxz]

Originally Posted by Karibou

...
But when a 4th grader goes home and asks "Mommy, what does that mean?", I can imagine that might raise some parents' eyebrows and a bring up questions about the type of program their child is involved in that has them picking up that language.
...

While I'm not commenting on the rest of your post, I can say that when I was in 4th grade (hell even 3rd grade) (7 years ago), i knew much fowler language than this. Times are simply changing.

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by dirtbikerxz

While I'm not commenting on the rest of your post, I can say that when I was in 4th grade (hell even 3rd grade) (7 years ago), i knew much fowler language than this. Times are simply changing.

I don't think I knew what a swear word was until at least middle school, which, granted, was over a decade ago (man do I feel old right now). I have friends my age who, from the stories they and their parents have told me, were swearing in kindergarten. All depends on your upbringing

[Abhishek R]

Originally Posted by dirtbikerxz

While I'm not commenting on the rest of your post, I can say that when I was in 4th grade (hell even 3rd grade) (7 years ago), i knew much fowler language than this. Times are simply changing.

Not everyone can say the same nor do people want to be able to say the same.

[dirtbikerxz]

Originally Posted by Abhishek R

Not everyone can say the same nor do people want to be able to say the same.

I didn't exactly ask to know this language at that time (or now for that matter), it just happens un-wantedly.
P.S I definitely didn't learn this from my parents....

[seg9585]

Language aside, I still fail to see why anyone would be inspired or feel validated by a rapper / entertainment celebrity at a robotics and engineering competition.
As a kid, I never cared what a musician said about my involvement in robotics, I would have much rather gotten validation from a real engineering celebrity like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Charlie Bolden.

Would the audience still react the same way if Kim Kardashian walked in and said she loves robots?

[dirtbikerxz]

Originally Posted by seg9585

Would the audience still react the same way if Kim Kardashian walked in and said she loves robots?

Kim Kardashian dosen't have the same sort of social impact that Will.I.Am does

[dodar]

Originally Posted by seg9585

Language aside, I still fail to see why anyone would be inspired or feel validated by a rapper / entertainment celebrity at a robotics and engineering competition.
As a kid, I never cared what a musician said about my involvement in robotics, I would have much rather gotten validation from a real engineering celebrity like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Charlie Bolden.

Would the audience still react the same way if Kim Kardashian walked in and said she loves robots?

Actually go look up Will.I.Am before downplaying all that he has done. Calling him just a "rapper/entertainment celebrity" is down right insulting towards him.

[Koko Ed]

The dude was known to swear a lot so I was more surprised it didn't happen sooner.

[mrnoble]

I played the video today, in all my classes. I also played SF1:2 and the Beach Bots righting themselves twice. Both were hits, kids were excited about robotics who didn't do it all year.

[E Dawg]

Just because everybody else is swearing, doesn't make it okay for you to swear.

[Mastonevich]

I'm blown away at how many posts are FOR this. There are better ways to express how awesome FIRST is.