EDC 664 - Thoughts on Silverman Maze article discussion

My initial questions while reading this were, "Why are they cheating to get through a maze? and What are they going to gain for solving this?" My thoughts were "Just get through the maze, keep it moving, and be appreciative for completing the maze like everyone else." Ok, it took them about 1.5 hours to get through the maze the first time.

After 2 years of developing rules and utilizing their system/technology, they thought of different ways to complete the maze with a faster time for the 2nd and 3rd runs. I would think this to be the outcome after working this hard for a game and to finally overcome the challenge of completing the maze in record time (11 minues).

The other part of this story that I agree with is that they found an easier way to solve a problem by utilizing technology. It made me think back to our first experiences of solving the LEGOMAN problem at VirtCamp where we collectively had to develop 4 robots to carry the LEGOMAN from one robot to the next. As simple as playing with LEGOs was, we had to leverage each other to program the BLOCKS, build the robot, and synchronize our time.

Futhermore, their team placed alot of emphasis on getting the card stamped while going through to complete the maze, as well as, placing their name on the "Winner's List!" This made me think more about "bragging rights" rather than geniunely completing the maze like others may have. It was very clear to see that Silverman and his family were shocked to see the Winner's List removed after they completed the maze the 3rd time and to see that the one of the worker's accuse them of cheating. Again, we wouldn't know if they were cheating unless there were rules stating that you couldn't utilize technology to diagram the "maze." Overall, I see that Silverman was being very creative to solve a problem with technology

that could've been thought of before but, no one else may have cared to have this information/story documented on how to complete the maze for others. This was very interesting to read although I just knew I wouldn't agree with this story at first and after they were planning how they would accomplish the tasks for a quicker time through.

Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts.