Disclaimer:
I’m not entirely sure if some of the content on this post is trademarked, copywritten, registered, sacrosanct, or otherwise protected in any other sense. So I will plead ignorance, knowing that there isn’t a single court in the land that would rule differently! Did you know that before 2016, the Happy Birthday song was still under copyright, and thus singing it without permission required the payment of royalties to the owner? And Michael Buffer has stacked many a check because he trademarked his famous phrase “Let’s Get Ready To Rumble…!” From a legal standpoint, each and every one of you is as guilty as I am. ‘Nuff said.
I’m pretty sure that was the quickest one of my posts has gone off the rails, so let me attempt to right the ship, if I might mix some metaphors. Men, by and large, love to watch contests in which there is a struggle and a victor. And I’ve observed that the more violent the fight, or destruction left in its aftermath, the more we enjoy it. Apparently, the sweet science of boxing wasn’t enough to appeal to our base sensibilities, and MMA came along to all but supplant it in popularity. In ancient society, we had gladiators and chariot races. Now we have fighting robots and figure 8 school bus racing. What a glorious time in which we live! But I think we can agree that although the methods and venues have changed, the basics have stayed the same. There is, after all, nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9).
There are certain elements that are inherent to every battle. Obviously, there are opposing combatants. There is a reward or benefit to winning or conquering the opposition; spoils of war, if you will. Conversely, there are negative ramifications for losing. There are strategies, or at least there better be. I think it was the famous philosopher Homer J. Simpson that once declared, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Knowing your “enemy” and preparing to defeat him are also essential. Granted, I’m a better mailman than mechanical engineer, but I’ve made some observations while watching BattleBots that we would do well to heed. Here they are, in no particular order.
There must be a willingness to sacrifice. I’m not sure that building a weaponized Rumba to wipe out another on TV is worth a quarter million dollar degree from M.I.T., but who am I to judge? Regardless, each entrant has given tremendous amounts of time, money, and slide rule use to the cause. Do people still use slide rules? Is that not a baseball thing?
Teamwork makes the dream work. Catchy, isn’t it? And its also true. The value of shared ideas and perspectives, differing insights and abilities, and plain old gumption and grunt labor is incalculable. The person operating the pallet jack is as necessary as the one controlling the remote.
We need an objective and sober understanding of both our strengths and weaknesses. What we may deem to be a formidable weapon to damage the enemy and defensive mechanism or method to stave off attack can be woefully inadequate, even fatally flawed. Case in point: there is a robot called “Chomp”, which looks like a vintage toaster with a pointy hammer. It has the ability to right itself, which is a good thing because its tall center of gravity makes it susceptible to getting knocked over easily. It is also slow and not nimbly maneuverable. It performs, as you may suspect, like a vintage toaster with a pointy hammer. Now if I can see this, why can’t the robot builder and controller? As famed religious scholar Saint Clinton of Eastwood commented, “a man’s got to know his limitations.”
Finally, but I admit not exhaustively, there needs to be flexibility in implementation; a “Plan B”. The most resilient robots “adjust on the fly”, changing up when things don’t go according to plan. They compensate for damage, not only that of themselves but also that of their opponent. They also utilize their surroundings advantageously, including the Screws, the Kill Saws, and the Pulverizer! Taking full advantage of their own strengths and exploiting the weaknesses of the adversary is crucial in victory.
Allegorically speaking, Pilgrim’s Progress has nothing on BattleBots as it relates to us. Hopefully, you’ve seen some correlations between robot fightin’ and your own struggles. Continue to Firmer Ground to connect biblical truths to living victoriously in the day-to-day spiritual battles we all face.
(Click “Stand on Firmer Ground” for deeper look into It’s Robot Fightin’ Time!)