Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

sinker.tumblr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 289 posts

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#41

Post by veyron »

I disagree. I think, with many of the new sets, a whole class of new pieces were explored.

As a kid, the only cars I really remember were the ones with the small base (3x4 with an elevated segment for the tiny wheels). When I rediscovered legos, I noticed that many sets have larger base plates (for larger vehicles) -- width 6 stubs.

And the pick-a-brick are surprisingly deep in terms of shapes and sizes (I definitely don't remember the curved translucent pieces designed to emulate glass).

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#42

Post by pfarrell »

cstross wrote: post #26

s/LEGO/toy manufacturers/ (There, I fixed it for you!) The trend towards highly gendered media-tie in toys that are designed to generate follow-on sales opportunities for accessories rather than to encourage kids to develop their imagination through semi-structured but open-ended play nauseates me. I am doubtless betraying my personal bias here, but the corporate discovery that the quickest way to a parent's wallet i…

Hasn't this always been the case... the marketing influence, I mean? I've gone to the Lego store in my town. You can still assemble a nice set outside of the movie tie-in stuff.

Now, whether you can get you kids to think that's cooler or not? That's the real problem.

IIRC, Lego was on verge of bankruptcy in the early 2000's and had to figure out a way to get kids to keep buying. We're witnessing the same type of turnaround Apple had. We snort at this one, though, because we've constructed memories of childhood that remove the marketing we now see as adults.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#43

Post by maximusprime »

This is really really really boring.

Yes LEGO make LEGO "sets" that make a specific model. They also make a ton of generic building sets which teach you a ton of stuff. They even have walls of bricks in the shops where you can pick and choose which individual bricks you need.

If you don't like the specific building sets, don't buy those ones.

Every so often some people start moaning about how Lego is not the same as it was in their day. Stop whining.

(I've been a massive Lego fan for the last 30 years).

Oh and AWESOME NEWS! New DC sets coming in January! Now we can have Batman Lego sets again!!!!!

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#44

Post by burgerbrain »

dmm wrote: post #22
adriand wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you capable of realizing that your comment is unhelpful and does nothing to advance the conversation?

No, I don't understand why my comment does nothing to advance the conversation. The poster ericabiz says the US needs more women scientists and I asked her if she was a scientist. If not, I was going to ask her why she wasn't. EDIT: I don't give a damn what ericabiz does. I wanted to know whether she really believed toys or suggestive advertising or whatever was really to blame for the lack of women in science. Becau…

We need more brain surgeons. We also need more welders.

Why am I not simultaneously a brain surgeon and a welder? Baffling stuff!

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#45

Post by maximusprime »

cstross wrote: post #26

s/LEGO/toy manufacturers/ (There, I fixed it for you!) The trend towards highly gendered media-tie in toys that are designed to generate follow-on sales opportunities for accessories rather than to encourage kids to develop their imagination through semi-structured but open-ended play nauseates me. I am doubtless betraying my personal bias here, but the corporate discovery that the quickest way to a parent's wallet i…

BS @ trend.

Go back 50 years and it was dolls and toy guns. Nothing has changed, boys still like building and destroying, and girls still like caring about things and craft things.

You can try all you want to make boys play with dolls, and girls play at killing each other, but they won't in general, because it's not in their biological makeup to do so.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#46

Post by sethg »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #16

Does LEGO have some sort of patent on "legos"? In other words are other companies allowed to build similar kits?

Any patent LEGO might have claimed on the basic brick design must have expired long ago.

MegaBlocks makes bricks that are advertised as compatible with LEGO bricks, but in my experience the tolerance is just a little bit off.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#47

Post by kghose »

code_duck wrote: post #37

While I vastly prefer the open-ended building blocks to the themed sets, I did like the semi-generic Lego space theme as a child. Also very cool were Tente, a Spanish space themed building kit series... they were very futurist and stylish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tente_(Toys) The more open ended toys clearly have an advantage in terms of creativity, and most children have creativity to spare.

Ahh Tente! Brings back memories. I thought that Tente had more specialized pieces than Lego.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#48

Post by sliverstorm »

pfarrell wrote: post #42
cstross wrote: post #26

s/LEGO/toy manufacturers/ (There, I fixed it for you!) The trend towards highly gendered media-tie in toys that are designed to generate follow-on sales opportunities for accessories rather than to encourage kids to develop their imagination through semi-structured but open-ended play nauseates me. I am doubtless betraying my personal bias here, but the corporate discovery that the quickest way to a parent's wallet i…

Hasn't this always been the case... the marketing influence, I mean? I've gone to the Lego store in my town. You can still assemble a nice set outside of the movie tie-in stuff. Now, whether you can get you kids to think that's cooler or not? That's the real problem. IIRC, Lego was on verge of bankruptcy in the early 2000's and had to figure out a way to get kids to keep buying. We're witnessing the same type of turn…

we've constructed memories of childhood that remove the marketing we now see as adults

You're telling me this: http://www.innovationinpractice.com/.a/6a00e54ef4f3768834013...

Is a piece of marketing? Because that & similar pieces was 95% of what I used.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#49

Post by BenSS »

sethg wrote: post #46
rokhayakebe wrote: post #16

Does LEGO have some sort of patent on "legos"? In other words are other companies allowed to build similar kits?

Any patent LEGO might have claimed on the basic brick design must have expired long ago. MegaBlocks makes bricks that are advertised as compatible with LEGO bricks, but in my experience the tolerance is just a little bit off.

Yeah, they sorta work, but even my 4yo can immediately tell a mega block from a real Lego. They've all been banished from the logo bin.

Re: I'm starting to think LEGO is evil

#50

Post by dmm »

ericabiz wrote: post #35
dmm wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We need more women scientists Are you a scientist?

Nope, I'm not. I basically really suck at school, and am pretty awesome at computers and making money. That's why I started a startup at age 20 instead of finishing college, then sold it for a nice profit when I was 26. Now I'm on to another startup, and run a popular blog to boot.

Hey that's really cool. I wasn't meaning to be insulting, if that's how you took my comment. I had this awesome dialog planned that would have resulted in deep insight all around but then the comment was downvoted to hell and I became flustered.
Post reply on HN