Subject:
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What I do not want to see in RIS 2.0
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 24 Nov 1999 03:05:49 GMT
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Viewed:
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799 times
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I was sorry to see that one basic - and in my opinion important - change from
RIS 1.0 to 1.5 is the fact that LEGO in response to alleged customer demands
included three "ready-to-go" robots in the new Constructopedia.
While I do not want to exclude from robotics those who do have the will or
staying power to work with "challenges", it is a marked step away from the
open-ended nature of the original RIS set. In 1.0 LEGO gave users little but a
first step or two - then came the big question "are you a do'er or a quit'er"
(or something like that).
Meanwhile I can also see challenges play a lot less dominant role in the
marketing of LEGO Mindstorms than before.
Working with children I do not think this is a desirable trend. They do not
need to fed with solutions all the time. Their world is too full of ready-made
stuff as it is - let's keep some things open for fantasy, fun,
flying, free-falling, frustration - yes even failure!
Many here have spoken out against the Robo Sports and Extreme Creature add-on
sets. I think most of them were disappointed because they were only looking at
the pieces and the booklets. We got them for the challenges they included - and
they were great fun for the kids who think the graphics are awesome and
inspiring.
As we see the next Mindstorms sets coming I hope that LEGO does not forget it's
own Papert quote "there are no right answers in Robotics".
Play well!
Franz-Michael S. Mellbin
PS:
Sir Ernst Rutherford is alleged once to have been startled by a student at an
exam who refused to give him a straight answer to his questions although it was
clear the student knew the answer the professor was looking for. Asking him why
afterwards the student responded "I am tired sick of having high-school and
college teachers trying to tell me how to think"
The student was Niels Bohr.
---
Franz-Michael S. Mellbin
E-mail: fischer-mellbin@fischer-mellbin.com
http://www.fischer-mellbin.com/
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