Its a generational thing
Yes, Z can be strident and abrasive; he is also manifestly brilliant and exceedingly well informed. And, yes, Claude can be petulant and self-promotional; he also has extensive experience in various forms of motorsport. Moreover, the endless pissing contest between the two is tiresome. But I dont think either of them are the reason why fewer people now seem involved in this forum. Like Doug Milliken, I once had a very grumpy old boss, from whom I learned much: How to feel the slight harshness that is borderline detonation; how to distinguish by ear between too-rich and insufficient spark advance. (A quick way to learn to NOT leave the chuck-key in the drill press is to have it thrown at your head!)
No, I believe the problem here is, at root, an inability to postpone reward. This incapacity may be taken as a refusal whereupon Zs blood pressure rises dangerously . The truth is, there is nothing in most U. students prior experience to suggest, let alone persuade them, that the route to real fulfillment in life is to do well something worthwhile but difficult
Owen Thomas school must be very different from the one I worked at for several years. For about a decade after retirement, I was an unofficial tech advisor to the U Toronto FSAE team. During that time, I met many bright, engaged young people, several of whom have since become good friends. Along the way, I learned much, partly from the younguns, but to a greater extent from this forum, and especially from Z.
My relationship with the team ended 3 or 4 years ago, after I blew up (Z-like!) at one of our weekly beer-and-BS sessions. The people around me were not conspicuously stupid, but they were abstracted; they just didnt seem to have any curiosity. It was as if they didnt give a damn, as if FSAE was a box they needed to tick (go through the motions, learn the buzzwords, get the T-shirt, add an item to your CV).
I provided them with a reading list, plus links to some useful and reliable websites. No one even read the list, let alone any of the works on it! All knowledge came from the little metal friend they all carry. Reading more than one screens worth at a time was too boring, perhaps too taxing. Indeed, I think they are quite imply incapable of sustained concentration. (First we shape our tools; then they shape us. Marshall McLuhan.)
No, Im with the old guys.
P.S. Z: check your personal email. I sent you a message on 19 Feb.
The chicken and the egg...
I set off some controversy with the remark about the regulars here being design judges.
There were two ways this could've gone:
1) The way it did, which was to assume that the chicken came first and that we have scared off everyone else. This was followed by some remarks on the poor flying abilities of chickens and of their cowardice.
2) The other way, where FSAE graduates have gone off into industry, kept involved in the competition by posting on FSAE.com threads and talking to their successors at school, and finding themselves with the ability to take the time away to judge or scrutineer. I know that fsae.com helped convince me that I had something useful to teach as a design judge. I suspect sidkash and thettshark think the same way. SAE is often looking for judges, so if you're qualified and want to, look up the CDJ for the event. Do you know anyone who'd make a good design judge?
I did not mean to slight Owen, so let me apologize and point out that a design judge can ASK students if they want to improve something on their car next year, while a scrutineer can TELL students to fix something on their car as fast as they possibly can so that they can compete.
Oviparous animals were around for millions of years before birds, let alone chickens!