Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #05076
To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: Steven Bolt sbolt@xs4all.nl
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 23:23:50 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Something funny with the 1382 voltage triggers?
On Wed, 7 Jul 1999 JVernonM@aol.com wrote:
> Yes, I see your point. One could even say that Tilden himself
> relies on the trial and error method to make these things.
Afaik Mark T. tries very hard to do better than that.
> Further, the bots themselves are engineered to use trial and
> error to function randomly. It would seem that BEAM IS trial and
> error. I'm not sure how you change that if it is so all
> encompassing.
BEAM `bots may be charming, remind us of living insects, be
skillfully built or even art. But any behaviour, any trial & error
we see is entirely between *our* ears. They `try' to move about and
make `errors' as much as an aeolian harp tries to make music and
errors the tune...
> And I really am having problems seeing how BEAM would ever come
> up with, say, a manipulator that can pick up a certain object,
> ignoring others and doing something meaningful with it using that
> criteria.
BEAM `bots don't have to perform tasks, but they might be more
interesting when based on properly designed, described and
explained circuitry. That kind of stuff can behave just as
`insect-like', if that's what is wanted.
> But, aside from all that, it is still a great way to pull kids
> away from video games and get them to pick up a soldering iron.
> Getting them to realize that they are doing weird things and that
> there is a conventional method to these components is the hard
> part.
Which present BEAM makes harder than necessary.
> I do wonder if it really matters in the end. If a newbie
> wishes to learn "proper use" they will. If they just want to
> build something cool without knowing what's going on inside, they
> will. Perhaps, just getting them interested is the real hurtle.
> And BEAM puts them over that one quite well. There are many
> online who I have seen start out with asking "which way does a
> resistor go in" who are now discussing advanced neural nets. Not
> many, but they are there.
It seems to me that fewer would turn away in frustration, and more
would learn to really enjoy mechatronics if BEAM would put them not
so much in the dark to begin with.
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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