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Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

jewelbots.com

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Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#101

Post by sudosteph »

sarajo wrote: post #94
sudosteph wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This x100. There seems to be a popular notion that "feminine" traits are innate and universal to people with a "feminine identity", rather than the product of culture with socialization that treats female people consistently differently than male people from birth. However if you think about things that prepare someone for technical success, so-called "feminine" traits like caring about your appearance more than is a…

Hi! I wrote all about this, you can read my thoughts here. https://medium.com/thelist/papas-please-let-your-babies-grow...

I actually read it right before writing that comment above! It was the primary motivating factor for me providing some examples of how I've noticed that femininity can be negative in regards to tech.

That all being said, I don't knock anyone as an individual for liking what they like. I also recognize that there are reasons for the disparity of women in tech other than gender role conformity due to socialization. It's just one I think deserves more credit than it gets.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#102

Post by substack »

qq66 wrote: post #92
substack wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the real C++ part is so important because it respects the abilities and intelligence of children to participate in the adult world using a real (yet approachable) technology that is also used in industry. This also makes these skills earned poking around with a fun toy transferable to solving their own problems, doing coursework at university, and later on entering the technology labor market. Other programmi…

I don't think that you need to worry about the transferability of skills from a 11-year-olds toy to professional software development. The far more important thing to transfer is interest/excitement, and that may (or may not -- you're the expert) be easiest to do with a language other than C++. Part of what makes Arduino so fun is how fast you can get to a blinky LED, and part of what makes Scratch so fun is how quic…

These things build on each other over time and learning a language is not exactly easy, especially if you are starting out. An important aspect of the transferability here is that you can go from programming a jewelbot in c++ to programming other microcontrollers. You don't have to learn a completely different language and toolchain to continue exploring programming on a different platform.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#103

Post by sidlls »

sarajo wrote: post #77
jeswin wrote: post #74

Congratulations on launch and I really, really want you guys to succeed. However, the copy below is a little off-putting. >Jewelbots patent pending bluetooth connection takes friendship to the next level by responding to your besties whenever you are together. a) What's the patentable invention here? If it's a programmable watch or something like that, I'd be very scared. b) Your target audience should be encouraged…

Hi! Our patent covers the ability to communicate from wearable to wearable using BLE. I hope that he fact that we're completely open source, from hardware to firmware to software, encourages others to share. As far as advertising, I get that. Feedback received. Thanks.

That shouldn't be patentable. Bluetooth's entire purpose is to serve as a means for devices to communicate.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#104

Post by ShaneWilton »

johnm1019 wrote: post #100
rapsacnz wrote: post #83

As a proud dad of 3 incredible girls, I am very glad this product exists. I understand the argument that it would be great to not have gendered products at all meaning kids could choose what they want without any outside influence. Unfortunately, we don't live in that world yet (and it could be a while off) In the meantime, I can now buy a product that: 1. Encourages my girls to get into STEM. 2. Is not a hard sell.…

Why do men and women need to be the same? Isn't it ok to be different?

It's absolutely okay to be different. In fact, everybody is different, and that's one of the big problems with trying to slot people into one of two buckets.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#105

Post by sarajo »

sudosteph wrote: post #101
sarajo wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi! I wrote all about this, you can read my thoughts here. https://medium.com/thelist/papas-please-let-your-babies-grow...

I actually read it right before writing that comment above! It was the primary motivating factor for me providing some examples of how I've noticed that femininity can be negative in regards to tech. That all being said, I don't knock anyone as an individual for liking what they like. I also recognize that there are reasons for the disparity of women in tech other than gender role conformity due to socialization. It'…

I didn't notice the user name! Sorry for beating a dead horse.

There is a lot of "toxic femininity" I'm with you on that.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#106

Post by iak8god »

sudosteph wrote: post #85
iak8god wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do girls want? (after being socialized for their entire young lives to only express and develop interests in traditionally "feminine" pursuits) might turn out to be a quite different question from What's the best way to encourage girls to see themselves as being equally capable as boys in technical areas?"

This x100. There seems to be a popular notion that "feminine" traits are innate and universal to people with a "feminine identity", rather than the product of culture with socialization that treats female people consistently differently than male people from birth. However if you think about things that prepare someone for technical success, so-called "feminine" traits like caring about your appearance more than is a…

> But I hope we can continue to question the validity of "feminine" social constructs while also creating products like this, which bridge the gap after socialization has taken its toll.

Yep, just because this product doesn't fix all society's problems related to pushing gender norms on children doesn't mean it's not worth doing.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#108

Post by ThomPete »

jacalata wrote: post #84
ThomPete wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Identify as or are boys biologically?

It would seem rude for a toy maker to be asking children for their gender as assigned at birth (which is what I assume you mean) so they probably don't know.

I guess I am questioning what the point of asking for gender is, to begin with.

Not sure I get the whole identify as a boy in this context.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#109

Post by adamkaz »

marktangotango wrote: post #98
adamkaz wrote: post #91

I'm all for making it more appealing for everyone to learn to code, but I was torn over this product by a comment made by Sara Chipps on the Giant Robots podcast ( http://giantrobots.fm/246 ). One of the use cases she mentions is "...4 buzzes means the guy you like is nearby...".

> Learn to code->it will help you get a guy. I don't think I reasonable person would get this from the quote you posted. Does it even appear in any of the material on the site? Or was it an off the cuff example in an interview? Regardless, I'm unclear on why this is offensive, can you elaborate?

I guess the simplification I drew may not apply to everyone (edited). The off the cuff example given in the interview seemed to reinforce the idea that middleschool girls should be worried about guys and that didn't seem very empowering to me.

Re: Jewelbots – A Friendship Bracelet You Can Code

#110

Post by ThomPete »

sarajo wrote: post #93
jacalata wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would seem rude for a toy maker to be asking children for their gender as assigned at birth (which is what I assume you mean) so they probably don't know.

As general practice, I never ask people about their genitals.

You don't have to ask about their genitals but given you claim boys like jewelbots (which they very well might do) I think it's pretty relevent to understand whether those are biological boys or simply biological girls identifying as boys.

One would be less interesting than the other. Here is why.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/the-astonishin...

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