Dean's Speech at Nationals

[Gabriel]

Please note that this is a long rant written late at night, however I have a some reputation points to spare and I think that it is important to say:

The more I read about Dean the more I realize that our idol-worship of him is misplaced.

I didn't hear his speech at nationals, but I have heard him speak on many different occasions. He may be a fine engineer but he is arrogant, hypocritical and usually just plain wrong.

I've heard him countless times talk with pride about how many states he's convinced to allow the Segway (using his huge team of lobbyists). In the same speeches he frequently makes fun of lawyers, lobbyists, and government.

The Segway was supposed to change the world, it is a disaster. Read the book on Ginger, its a fascinating look at how a great toy was hyped as a world-saving device it never had the potential to become. Dean was so caught up in his grandiose vision that he couldn't see the forest for the trees, he couldn't understand that his product could never deliver what he had promised even when real visionaries like Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos actually told him so. As a result, Dean has lost a great deal of credibility (something he himself admits readily). This is a frequent problem with Dean, he latches onto big picture ideas he doesn't really understand and proposes solutions that, while clever, don't work. Take the Segway, or the iBOT wheelchair that didn't win approval until this year, or even in a sense FIRST itself. The fact is that FIRST isn't about what Dean thinks its about. We aren't transforming the culture and we shouldn't be (and how wrong is it for a guy who famously abstains from popular culture to criticize that same popular culture he has no knowledge of!) Dean sees FIRST as a big-picture thing, about transforming the culture of the United States, but it isn't. Take the number of students who participate in FIRST, subtract the number who are inspired by FIRST, subtract the number who were already interested in Science/Technology, subtract the number who like FIRST but come out of it choosing a career path other than engineering. The number of people fulfilling Dean's vision ends up being so small as to be insignificant on the national level. However, FIRST isn't really about that, its really about inspiring individuals and communities, and here FIRST makes a HUGE difference. Most of the people at FIRST get this, Dean doesn't.

Dean is certainly genuine - I will give him that - but he isn't all that he is cracked up to be. Dean is no more worthy of our cult-worship (which we seem all too ready to hand out) someone like Donald Trump. Its the image we're worshipping, not the man.

How about instead of talking about Dean constantly we start talking about the mentors who actually make FIRST worthwhile. They are the inspiring ones, and they are the ones who are worthy of our attention.

Has Dean ever actually mentored a team? I know that Dave Lavery and other FIRST leaders do... why doesn't Dean?

[Adam Y.]

It is very hard to loose a job, but what about a home? a life? or a family? others have it much harder than your lack of not having the latest widescreen or 3.9 Ghrz machine. Just take a moment to look at the bigger picture and think about others...and enjoy life (oh and btw its just a speech)

I agree. Does anyone find it interesting that the three countries that are competiting with the United States technology wise also have problems with suicide? I was reading articles about how Japanese workers that loose their jobs just kill themselves.

Interesting piece in Newsweek this week about outsourcing, including a brief interview with the CEO of Autodesk

I saw an interview too with the CEO of Autodesk. She said the company could produce products not viable to create because of outsourcing.
Btw... Does anyone think that the reason most people are not interested in sciences is because they don't leave very good lives? Galileo died while in permament house arrest. The Wright Brothers did not make much money off the airplane. Tesla died forgotten and not even receive the credit for the radio or for developing our power system. Curie died of radiation posioning which is not fun. Einstein died forgoten and not even achieving his greatest goal. Archimedes was killed by a Roman soilder while doing a math problem.

[Jason Kixmiller]

Let me be the first to admit that I may not be the most educated on this subject. However, as someone aspiring to enter the field of engineering, I interpreted Mr. Kamen's message in a different way. Yes, some of the things he said did seem insensitive to foreign countries, and yes, he may not be the most eloquent of speakers, but both of these topics have already been covered. I understand the importance of keeping historical perspectives in mind as history often tends to repeat itself. However, history must also be realized and accepted for what it is: history. I feel that the outsourcing debate is just the tip of the iceberg. Outsourcing can be a potential problem, but a more threatening problem is complacency. America must not become complacent with the status that its forefathers worked for. It is only through the work of organizations such as FIRST and incredible mentors that America can hope to stir the leaders of tomorrow from complacency. If America wishes to stay competitive, its sons and daughters must continuously strive to better themselves and their country through math, science, medicine, technology, etc.

[swando]

I feel that Dean has the inalienable right and privelage to make any point he cares to make for the organization he founded. If you didn't like the speech, i guess that isnt a terrible thing, but i took it as a rare oppurtunity to experience a lecture from one of the geniuses of our time, and a very great man.

[fred]

Just a quick comment. America hasn't really taken over technology until perhaps the Soviet Union disbanded (remember, they were in space first), but now that we are on the top, we should try to stay on the top as long as possible. I think that is the main point that Dean was trying to make. But he went off on a lot of controversial tangents that I didn't agree with and didn't get the point across very well.

[KenWittlief]

Originally Posted by fred

Just a quick comment. America hasn't really taken over technology until perhaps the Soviet Union disbanded (remember, they were in space first), but now that we are on the top, we should try to stay on the top as long as possible. I think that is the main point that Dean was trying to make. But he went off on a lot of controversial tangents that I didn't agree with and didn't get the point across very well.

if you want to get picky about history, Nazi Germany was the first to put a man made object into space -the V2 rocket that rained death on London was both supersonic and high enough at apogee to be considered a space craft.