Alt-BEAM Archive

Message #05079



To: beam@sgiblab.sgi.com
From: JVernonM@aol.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 18:28:57 EDT
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Something funny with the 1382 voltage triggers?


In a message dated 7/7/99 5:38:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sbolt@xs4all.nl
writes:

> > 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.
Ok, I'll give you that one. But, I think the "emergent behaviors" still fall
into the trial and error category.

> 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...
Agreed. I wasn't quite clear. I meant that they use hit and miss, getting
lucky if the hit comes at an opportune time.

> > 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 don't know. I have to chew on that. I still think if you can make a silk
purse out of a sow's ear, you're doing pretty good. Or perhaps I should say,
make a sow's ear out of a silk purse :).

> 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.
See, I like to think that they are already in the dark, and BEAM casts a tiny
shaft of light. Perhaps, as you say, in the wrong direction, but a direction
non the less.
I've also noticed that people like Bob and Wilf, who have a background in
electronics, still find BEAM intriguing. I, on the other hand, have
absolutely no prior experience outside of dabbling. I may be the wrong person
to argue these finer points.
Jim

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