BBC Article: Are Lego leaving less to the imagination?

[Crustybeaver]

Interesting article on the BBC site today about current day sets removing a lot of the imagination from building. Would be good to hear peoples views on this:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29992974

Edited November 26, 2014 by Crustybeaver

[tractorboy]

This guy knows what he's talking about:

 

"It's nonsense to say that Lego sets are now made up of specialised pieces," says David Gauntlett, professor of media, art and design at the University of Westminster. "It is commercial madness to make specific parts that can't be used for other things. As a business Lego has no desire to be doing that at all. I know people like to say that it's not what it was, but it's false nostalgia. I find it really irritating.

"It was sort of true about 12 years ago, when the company almost went bankrupt and the products were less popular. Since then the company has had a major turnaround based on embracing the core of the Lego concept and not doing stupid things like that."

 

 

Lego is more versatile now than it's ever been, even though there are less unique pieces being made than 15 years ago. One issue I had with Lego when I was young in the 70s and 80s, what that the variety of parts available was quite restricting, so it was hard to make very detailed models, especially on a small scale.

Different story nowadays of course.

 

 

This guy on the other hand, clearly doesn't know what he's talking about, and has obviously never taken a close look at Technic and what people are doing with it:

 

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Sir Harry Kroto argues that British-designed Meccano, which involves putting nuts and bolts together, is of greater educational value because it mimics real-life engineering. "There is no comparison," he says. "Children should start with Lego, which is basically a toy, and its basic units are bricks. We do not build cars and other machines out of bricks." He adds that children should "graduate" to Meccano.

 

 

He sounds like my Dad who grew up with Meccano back in the 50s. One Christmas when I was a kid, he convinced me to try Meccano instead of Lego, and I was bored with it after a few weeks. Endless turning of nuts of bolts and cut fingers, just to make a really simple model. I went back to Lego the following year with the Technic 857 Motorbike which had a chain driven engine and working pistons.

[Val-E]

Yup, I prefer Lego logo imprints on my finger tips to cut flesh!

 

Interesting article which perhaps highlights why Lego models look better than other brands, more parts variety = more realistic designs and more scope.

[KShine]

The point of the article is that the creative effort (which was once required) is gone (or at least, not what it once was).

 

If people want to buy a realistic model, they have truly realistic models - I like my LEGO to look like LEGO.

[tractorboy]

The point of the article is that the creative effort (which was once required) is gone (or at least, not what it once was).

 

If people want to buy a realistic model, they have truly realistic models - I like my LEGO to look like LEGO.

I would say the internet has increased people's creativity with Lego hugely in recent times. If people are making crappy models, it's because they're just lazy and not trying hard enough. Or they're just not very creative. It's not a fault of the Lego. Having better pieces encourages the creative people to be more adventurous and expressive with it. You can use parts in so many different ways nowadays.

With the old Lego, you always hit a creative brick wall eventually (no pun intended). Nowadays the possibilities are endless, which encourages people to be more creative. Some of the MOCS I see around these days just blow me away in terms of the imagination and design that went into them. Even the small, unrealistic type of models, like the micro builds some people do.

[Ed Mack]

I would say the internet has increased people's creativity with Lego hugely in recent times. If people are making crappy models, it's because they're just lazy and not trying hard enough. Or they're just not very creative. It's not a fault of the Lego. Having better pieces encourages the creative people to be more adventurous and expressive with it. You can use parts in so many different ways nowadays.

With the old Lego, you always hit a creative brick wall eventually (no pun intended). Nowadays the possibilities are endless, which encourages people to be more creative. Some of the MOCS I see around these days just blow me away in terms of the imagination and design that went into them. Even the small, unrealistic type of models, like the micro builds some people do.

Exactly.  Some MOCs I have seen and the creative use of off the wall parts truly amazes me at times.  LEGO sets have never been better.  Period.

[inversion]

Actually the manuals and exact models teach you building techniques you wouldn't come up with on your own naturally (for most people). Buying a few modulars might be more beneficial to creativity than having a bucket of random bricks.

 

And we also have Mindstorms, although not for the little kids, but in terms of creativity probably THE MOST brilliant toy of the last decades. Teaching programming and robotics for that price? Nothing else can be compared to that.

Edited November 26, 2014 by inversion

[meowsmeowsmeows]

I can see the argument that licensed sets removed some of the "creativity" that Legos of 30 years ago had.  I mean, if you buy a Star Wars AT-AT, you want to build a Star Wars AT-AT.  Why buy the pieces for the set to build something else given the price.  Unless, of course, you're a kid...

 

The article is written from an adult's perspective.  Kids can get any set, take it apart time and time again, and rebuild it into something different and enjoy it.  The availability of new and different pieces has only increased creativity and building power, for kids and adults alike.