Ok... fine. :::sadly putting soapbox back:::
I have been reading some of the newbie threads, and although there are some questionable listening and reasoning skills, I sympathize with the "innovative, out of the box ideas" because I often find myself trying to be "innovative" and "thinking outside the box" because I actually spend about 50% of my free time reading, researching and trying to learn on a wide variety on topics. And there are a few things I have learned on my long quest to quench my thirst for knowledge, and some of those things are that all manufacturers of all products have to walk a fine line on all matters in aspects such as product quality, performance, weight, fuel milage, longevity, EPA and emissions, size restraints and on and on and on... which leaves a whole host of arreas dreamers like others and myself can tinker with to improve one or more areas by compromising or removing restrictions that the original engeneers of said product had been limited by.
In addition, I also realize that all of the great products and inventions we enjoy today are only in existence because of the spirit, drive and ingenuity of those who dare to dream, think outsidethe box and try their hand at being innovative. I admire that spirit and courage that it takes to speak up about their ideas in this world owhere the majority of people have been indoctrinated into the belief that there's nothing left to be discovered and who ridicule anyone who doesn't tow the line of mindless acceptance. Its much easier to sit back and make fun of those who put their "out of the box" ideas and "innovative" attempts at improvement for others to see just to feel smarter, or try to appear smarter, that those with the innovative spirit than it is for the innovaters and free thinkers to put their ideas out for the wolves of society to ridicule. And, like you pointed out to me not long ago, there are a good majority of youth on this forum who, by the very nature of this DIY forum, aspire to learn and be innovative and think out side of the box to accomplish their goal of building a go kart. One would think that we would not only refraine from ridicule but actually ENCOURAGE an innovative and out of the box thinking approach and use this platform as it is intended... which is to provide an environment where innovative and DIY type people can feel comfortable sharing their ideas and asking questions without the ridicule, put downs and sarcastic remarks. I will always have more respect for a person with innovative ideas, even if I feel they ARE ridiculous, than I will ever have for the person just waiting for such ideas to come up to publicly humiliate them.
So here we are, standing on the shoulders of the innovators while we use the technology invented with out of the box thinking to send our thoughts over vast distances, nearly instantly, in a conversation that was started to ridicule ideas of people for their attempt at being innovative and thinking outside the box. There is a bigger, more beautiful picture here that we are all contributing to. Each of our comments are like little brush strokes on the canvas of this reality with different colors being representative of our conscious thoughts and intent that we apply to the bigger picture, where our paint can directly affect the paint of those around us.
Wow, did you see that? I slid off the rails and went into some kind of hippy talk in an attempt to convey my viewpoint with a metaphor. Look, I know it can be frustrating to not ridicule and pick the low hanging fruit but, its my humble opinion that it is more helpful to consider the color and brush stroke you use to help the other painters around you. No two artists use the same techniques, but you can atleast try to not throw the whole bucket of paint on the canvas... dude.
(Yeah, I referenced the hippy talk metaphor again... deal with it)
