Ask Aaron - The Hamburger is Bad

Questions and Answers about Combat Robotics
from Team Run Amok

The Hamburger is Bad!

We get a lot of questions asking for quite specific recommendations on materials or components that provide far too little information for us to even guess at an answer. This is addressed in , but builders are not put off from repeating this type of question. I'm sympathetic to the needs of builders to obtain some guidance, but many of the design discussions we get into go like this:

Q: Is a 1/4 pound hamburger good?
A: That depends on the hamburger. I need more information.
Q: I told you, it's a 1/4 pound hamburger. It has a bun.
A: Do you generally like hamburgers? How old is this hamburger? Where did the hamburger come from? What is on the hamburger? Are you going to eat this hamburger or do something else with it? How hungry are you? Does it come with fries and a drink? What color is the meat? Is there fuzz growing on it? Is it hot and juicy or frozen solid? Are other people eating this same type of hamburger?
Q: Just tell me if it's good.
A: I can't tell you if it's good. You'd better leave it alone.
Q: I don't believe you.
A: Suit yourself.
Q: The hamburger was bad. You should have told me it was bad. You suck.
A: Have a nice day.

I'm pretty sure somebody will build a robot named 'Bad Hamburger' just to rub my nose in this. Really, you shouldn't bother.

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