Mousetrap Challenge - 1.3: Prototype 1
I'm honestly pretty disappointed with our results today, I feel we wasted our time beating a dead horse. Well, it was a new idea my classmates liked but I was skeptical of it since R&D. One of my group mates was obsessed with pulleys and other simple machines thinking the purpose of pulleys is to add energy to a system: they don't. Pulleys make a system to require less work to lift an object but unlike mousetraps don't inherently possess potential energy.
EDIT: To clarify I'm not saying my ideas are being rejected, just that we spent way to much time on one that clearly doesn't work.
I know I often judge things as dubious and futile too early but I sincerely don't see the point of this "challenge". As far as I can see everyone is going out of their way to find creative ways to solve a problem when the most effective way is probably the simplest, just using the mousetrap as a catapult. I'm not advocating for my team to use the catapult idea but I wish Fusion would be more set in reality.
EDIT: To clarify I'm not saying my ideas are being rejected, just that we spent way to much time on one that clearly doesn't work.
I know I often judge things as dubious and futile too early but I sincerely don't see the point of this "challenge". As far as I can see everyone is going out of their way to find creative ways to solve a problem when the most effective way is probably the simplest, just using the mousetrap as a catapult. I'm not advocating for my team to use the catapult idea but I wish Fusion would be more set in reality.
Hi, Jason. I respect the honesty of your reflection. I think that I see two issues coming out of what you've written here. One is that there seems to be a problem with how your group is working as a team. It will be rare that you are left alone to solve and create solutions to problems completely on your own. Your challenge will be to get your group all on the same page. If you feel that your ideas are being disrespected or not given a chance, you need to find a way to get the others to hear you. Sometimes a little give goes a long way to establishing the trust with your team such that they will try your ideas.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the point of the challenge is concerned, we are establishing patterns and processes that have worked for others while tackling relatively simple problems that are related to the concepts that you need to learn in Science. I'm seeing a lot of people learning a lot of things, but not everyone is necessarily learning the same thing. Maybe, taking a step back from the challenge itself might allow you to ask the question, "What can I learn from this process?" While it is unlikely that you will be driving a car powered by mousetraps in 10 years, much of what you learn related to energy storage and transfer as well as how you can work in a team and one approach to solving problems are based solidly in reality.