Reality Check Point Return to main page
Hi Folks,
This page is to give you some reality on what we are doing, where we are going, why we are going there, and some of the difficulties we are encountering. Hopefully this will give you a greater strength in connecting up and being part of the team.
First of all, this is a long letter so if you need to disconnect from the internet while reading it, you can do that by 'Right' mouse clicking on the picture of the two computers down by the clock on the right side of your screen. Do it now.
Phew, sometimes we rush round the internet as quickly as we can, and not really taking very much in, especially if we are paying for it by the minute!
Lets have a look first of all at Robots and Electronics. Why Robots, why have we chosen this direction? Well its great fun firstly, and a great way to learn about technology, electronics, and computers. In an age where Technology is becoming common place and computers are becoming as common as a toothbrush, we have not noticed how far it has evolved. We are so used to be able to write a document, have a computer spell check it and then print it out, so that minutes later it's in your hands. We take all of this for granted, but how often do we stop and think HOW or WOW ! We are so spoilt by technology and we are not even aware of it. Most of the things we have in our homes are made by Robots and Computer Controlled Machines for example, pens, clothes, furniture, videos, matchboxes, fire alarms, toilet rolls, toys, pizza, washing machines, cars, tea-bags and shoelaces.....you name it, a robot probably made it! It's not only a multi - billion pound industry...it's ALL of industry! And most people don't know anything about it, they think that a computer is for writing a letter or for zapping aliens in a game. A Computer is mankind's most versatile machine!
A Computer is quite different to a 'Games Console', It's quite sad when we see a child sitting in front of a 'Play Station' or other 'games box'.
They're learning nothing.
They're usually doing this on their own.
They don't understand how the machine is working.
There is no room for development other than becoming a sharp shooter!
Perhaps it's time that we redirect & rethink which direction we want ourselves to progress in. Wouldn't it be great to put that energy into something more creative?
Early computers ( Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore 64 etc.) were much more educational because we had to program our computers to play games. We had to understand how the machine worked to get it to play a game with us. Most great Engineers today grew up on a diet of these early machines. Although modern computers are more advanced, we are not taught these Basics anymore, which still apply today as they always have. That's why on Level 2 of our Robotic Workshop you will learn Programming, and also on the Electronic Wizards apprenticeship.
Because today everything is laid on a plate for us, we have become lazy and spoilt. We expect all the hard work to have been done for us, so that we can sit back and enjoy the nice bits!
People lack ambition and thirst for knowledge, in fact most people have never learnt 'HOW TO LEARN', Many people live their lives blindly following a routine of just going to work from 9 to 5 (or to School) , coming home, eating, watching telly, and going to bed, Never having a real goal or ambition, not even a hobby!
It's funny you know how people go to work every day to earn money to buy lovely houses, with beautiful furniture and all the things that people buy, and yet they are at work, in an office, sweating away, behind a tiny desk, doing work for other people.......never enjoying the things that they buy with the money....because that's all at Home!
Bonkers! Absolutely Bonkers!
Life is for LIVING and is an adventure! Don't waste it like many people do. Without thinking they follow the call of money, forgetting that there is more to life, to explore, to create, to inspire, to invent, to be thrilled by, to expand into.
Money , Money, Money seems to be driving us all slightly mad and some of us TOTALLY mad! It's as though MONEY is the reason or driving force behind everything we do, plastic products, sell, sell, sell, market, disposable junk, things that none of us really need.
Obviously money is not all bad , and can be a useful and valuable method of exchange, However perhaps too much emphasis has been put on money, to the point where people do not follow their dreams because of a lack of it, often leading unadventurous and monotonous lives, or at its extreme the thirst for money can be so strong that people lose sight of basic human qualities, and are driven into crime.
Life is Rich with opportunities, we are so lucky in our society to be able to take opportunities, its easy to get swept away with the crowd and lose sight of the magic of life itself! Everything that we have today has come from people who have been willing to take risks, dive into the unknown and devote their life to a dream. People like Leonardo da Vinci who taught us about art, anatomy and inventions, Nicola Tesla who gave us mains electricity and electric motors, the Wright brothers who brought us mad flying machines and the Beatles who influenced many generations with their revolutionary music and thinking. All these people have been willing to be different from the crowd.
So 'Wake Up' and do something different today!
Career, we are all encouraged to follow a career, whether it's artistic, scientific, musical, academic etc. It's important to follow a subject that you enjoy and that brings you pleasure. We hope that during our series of workshops we can bring a sense of direction and purpose, or perhaps turn an interest into a dedicated glare!
Actually, This needs to be a book not a letter! so we'll cut it short for now and add to it again later........
See you at the next workshop, or on the 'The Electronic Wizard's Apprenticeship.'
Ian & Bean