# RO: This is totally going to kill Bring Your Clock to School Day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454 "2015-09-16T08:35:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 58
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1141 "2015-10-03T21:21:44Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > **Alkash** , I can’t say as most of what you wrote is terribly incisive. But this point is one I definitely agree with. A lot of the angry responses to my posts could be paraphrased as “Shhh…be nicer to poor Ahmed, you asshole–what are you thinking?” as though I were criticizing a Special Olympics contestant for not jumping very high. No, you were trying to redirect the conversation away from the absurd actions of the school authorities and the police by mocking a teenager and his electronics project. We ain’t buying it. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1142 "2015-10-03T21:45:08Z")
> [@Alkash](#): > > Alas, it appears the poor Chinese kid who actually built the clock won’t get anything, other than his $0.25 per hour salary. Well, the clock is from the 80’s so, if it makes you feel better, he’s probably making $1.20 an hour as an assistant factory manager by now. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1143 "2015-10-03T21:46:49Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, you were trying to redirect the conversation away from the absurd actions of the school authorities and the police by mocking a teenager and his electronics project. We ain’t buying it. Please don’t lump me in with the right wingers who are defending the school. I am nothing if not consistent in my scorn and contempt for red Southern states and the rednecks therein. I’m just not willing to say “hey, the kid busted these bigoted assholes nicely, so I’ll play along and pretend there’s nothing fishy here”. I like digging into the actual _truth_, as best as I can perceive it–and what it looks like to me (admitting I don’t really know for sure and probably never will) is that the school officials and the police are predictably overreacting xenophobes, while Ahmed and his dad are crafty provocateurs. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1144 "2015-10-03T22:56:52Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > No, it’s more like “why are you putting down a kid who, at worst, is guilty of hyperbole?”. No one thinks his clock is a genius invention, but many of us feel that kids who like to play with electronics should be encouraged to do so, and not made to feel worse if they make the terrible sin of using the wrong word (like “invention”) to describe what they’re tinkering with. Oh, please. Hyperbole is the worst explanation, it’s the best. And the kid not only uses the word, those in awe of his ability to invent (:dubious:) do this kid a great disservice by propping him up. What they should have been doing is aging, “Oh, you took the case off a clock and it still worked. Great. Lot’s of scientists and engineers start by doing stuff like that.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1145 "2015-10-03T23:04:01Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Oh, please. Hyperbole is the worst explanation, it’s the best. And the kid not only uses the word, those in awe of his ability to invent (:dubious:) do this kid a great disservice by propping him up. What they should have been doing is aging, “Oh, you took the case off a clock and it still worked. Great. Lot’s of scientists and engineers start by doing stuff like that.” Why do you think this is relevant? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1146 "2015-10-03T23:07:37Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Oh, please. Hyperbole is the worst explanation, it’s the best. And the kid not only uses the word, those in awe of his ability to invent (:dubious:) do this kid a great disservice by propping him up. What they should have been doing is aging, “Oh, you took the case off a clock and it still worked. Great. Lot’s of scientists and engineers start by doing stuff like that.” This doesn’t seem to disagree with anything I said. Yes, it was hyperbole, and it wasn’t a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1147 "2015-10-04T03:15:57Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why do you think this is relevant? The point is that what the kid had was NOT an “invention”. The adults around him should have explained that to him. If he had created that from scratch, that would be one thing, probably even an invention. What he did is as much of an invention as a beer bottle with the label peeled off. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1148 "2015-10-04T03:17:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > This doesn’t seem to disagree with anything I said. Yes, it was hyperbole, and it wasn’t a big deal. The question is, dies he know it’s hyperbole? The fact that he’s used the word invention after the fact indicates that he doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1149 "2015-10-04T03:36:49Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > The question is, dies he know it’s hyperbole? The fact that he’s used the word invention after the fact indicates that he doesn’t. Translation difficulty? His former teacher did say that he had to learn English as a second language. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1150 "2015-10-04T03:38:57Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > The question is, dies he know it’s hyperbole? The fact that he’s used the word invention after the fact indicates that he doesn’t. It is fucking irrelevant that he used the word invention. Unless perhaps you want to argue that he was arrested for patent infringement? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1151 "2015-10-04T04:13:19Z")
Arrested for poor English usage. Fowler must be rolling in his grave. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1152 "2015-10-04T08:34:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Please don’t lump me in with the right wingers who are defending the school. I am nothing if not consistent in my scorn and contempt for red Southern states and the rednecks therein. I’m just not willing to say “hey, the kid busted these bigoted assholes nicely, so I’ll play along and pretend there’s nothing fishy here”. I like digging into the actual _truth_, as best as I can perceive it–and what it looks like to me (admitting I don’t really know for sure and probably never will) is that the school officials and the police are predictably overreacting xenophobes, **while Ahmed and his dad are crafty provocateurs**. You keep saying this. Can you please explain what you believe Ahmed and his dad were thinking here? Do you think they knew he’d be arrested? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1153 "2015-10-04T08:37:32Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > It is fucking irrelevant that he used the word invention. Unless perhaps you want to argue that he was arrested for patent infringement? Yeah, right. The same way what I write is irrelevant when you mischaracterize what I write? Words matter, you fucking dolt. If one is going to have praise heaped upon him for an “invention” of his, his “invention” should actually qualify as, you know, an _invention._ ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1154 "2015-10-04T08:39:28Z")
So who’s praising him for “creating an invention,” and not for showing a curiosity and interest in science and technology that kids his age usually don’t even go that far with? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1155 "2015-10-04T08:43:33Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > You keep saying this. > > Can you please explain what you believe Ahmed and his dad were thinking here? Do you think they knew he’d be arrested? Interesting [article](http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2015/09/29/before-clock-incident-made-him-a-celebrity-ahmed-mohamed-racked-up-weeks-of-suspensions-and-clashed-with-authority/) that gives some insight into his possible motivation. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1156 "2015-10-04T09:20:16Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > So who’s praising him for “creating an invention,” and not for showing a curiosity and interest in science and technology that kids his age usually don’t even go that far with? Look, I agree that scientific interest should be rewarded and encouraged. But praise needs to be commensurate with one’s creations. Here’s a quick look at what some other kids are up to: > **[14-year-old wins Google Science Fair award with genius way to use corn cobs](https://www.businessinsider.com/sripada-srisai-lalita-prasida-wins-at-google-science-fair-2015-9)** > > It's corny. > **[14 Year Old Teenager's Invention Improves Biofuel Production Using Nitrogen...](https://inhabitat.com/14-year-olds-biofuel-breakthrough-boosts-algae-production-500/)** > > Gregory Martin's entry into the 2014 Google Science Fair aims to improve production of algae biofuels And here’s a bunch of kids a year or two older coming up with brilliant stuff: > **[Here are the world's sharpest young minds on how to test for Ebola, treat...](https://www.businessinsider.com/coolest-google-science-fair-winners-2015-9)** > > Google just hosted its fifth annual Science Fair. Meet all the grand prize winners Check out the last picture. The only good thing to come of this is to see how stupid people can look when they use their own PC racism to rich to judgement. I’m talking to you Google, Barack, MIT, etc. Here’s a cool idea from another 14-year old: > [@](#): > > TheraNIM: A Touchless Respiratory Monitor. Eswar Anandapadmanaban, 16, from Jersey City, NJ was inspired by the ghostly instrument the Theramin – used to create creepy sound effects in science fiction films – to design a less invasive and inexpensive way for caregivers to monitor patients’ breathing. Like the Theramin, the TheraNIM is touchless. It monitors breathing by creating an electrical field around a patient and detecting the chest movements that accompany inhalations and exhalations. One of its advantages, says Anandapadmanaban, is that it keeps patients comfortable because it requires no stick-on electrodes or other wires and sensors. And from a 13-year-old: > [@](#): > > Remote-controlled school presentation microscope: Mark Drobnych, 13, of Uzhgorod, Ukraine used a LEGO Mindstorms kit to create a microscope with two lenses and four glass slide holders that teachers can use to show students a variety of images on a projection screen. A Web cam enables schools around the world to compare images and results. He came up with the idea after watching his science teacher run between desks as she tried to help each student properly set up his or her experiment. He said his invention can also benefit schools that don’t have enough money to supply each child with a microscope. Here’s what some other 7th to 12 graders are up to at one school: > [@](#): > > JBS Regional Science Fair Winners > POSTED BY LSTEPP / NOVEMBER 7, 2011 > On Saturday, November 5th, June Buchanan School students Taylor Herron (representing 6th grade), Ruby Yeary (representing 7th grade), Megan Hall (representing 8th grade), Jenna Hall (representing 9th grade), Ian M. Hall (representing 10th grade), and Tessa Amburgey (representing 12th grade) collected their science fair project materials and traveled to the East Kentucky Science Center in Prestonsburg, KY. > > When the regional awards were announced at the Big Sandy Community and Technical College, JBS students were ecstatic with their results. Taylor Herron placed 2nd for her project, “The Effect of Arrow Mass on Target Penetration,” and won a $300 savings bond for her achievement. Ruby Yeary placed 1st for her project, “The Effect of Skyscraper Shape on Structural Damage,” and also won a $300 savings bond in addition to $250 for JBS science supplies. Megan Hall placed 1st for her project, “The Effect of Various Disinfectants on Toothbrush Bacterial Growth,” winning a $300 savings bond and another $250 for JBS science supplies. Jenna Hall placed 1st for her project, “The Effect of Smell on Taste” and collected a $300 savings bond, along with $250 for JBS science supplies. Tessa Amburgey placed 3rd for her project, “The Effect of Weight on the Quadriceps,” winning a $100 savings bond. Students won a total of $750 for The June Buchanan School, which will be used for science supplies needed for labs throughout the year. And that’s a good place to pause. How would what Ahmed did be described if it were entered in a science fair? “Method for transporting inner workings of a timing device into a suitcase?” “Removing the housing to reveal the manufactured innards of a common alarm clock?” There’s not even an _idea_ there worthy of praise. It’s merely the the tinkering you’d expect from kids interested in electronics. And I’d bet anything that there have been kids doing what he did at a much younger age. We probably never heard of them because there was no arrest. That and the adults around them had a more appropriate response. I grew up with a kid that was very mechanically inclined and was constantly taking things apart to see how they worked. While he was complimented on his interest and ability, that would immediately be followed up with. John please put the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ back together. And it better work right when you do!? To be clear, I do not begrudge the kid being encouraged by his teacher. I don’t hold it against him that his _non-invention_ falls well short of ideas some other kids his age come up with. His interest in scientist is good, and he should be encouraged. But science deals with reality, and the adults around him, not to mention the those who have showered praise, would have served him better if they reserved such praise for inventions and scientific creativity for those who deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1157 "2015-10-04T11:30:00Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Look, I agree that scientific interest should be rewarded and encouraged. But praise needs to be commensurate with one’s creations. Here’s a quick look at what some other kids are up to: > > [Sripada Srisai Lalita Prasida Wins at Google Science Fair - Business Insider](http://www.techinsider.io/sripada-srisai-lalita-prasida-wins-at-google-science-fair-2015-9) > > [http://inhabitat.com/14-year-olds-biofuel-breakthrough-boosts-algae-production-500/](http://inhabitat.com/14-year-olds-biofuel-breakthrough-boosts-algae-production-500/) > > And here’s a bunch of kids a year or two older coming up with brilliant stuff: > > [Coolest Google Science Fair Winners - Business Insider](http://www.businessinsider.com/coolest-google-science-fair-winners-2015-9) > > Check out the last picture. The only good thing to come of this is to see how stupid people can look when they use their own PC racism to rich to judgement. I’m talking to you Google, Barack, MIT, etc. > > Here’s a cool idea from another 14-year old: > > And from a 13-year-old: > > Here’s what some other 7th to 12 graders are up to at one school: > > And that’s a good place to pause. How would what Ahmed did be described if it were entered in a science fair? > > “Method for transporting inner workings of a timing device into a suitcase?” > > “Removing the housing to reveal the manufactured innards of a common alarm clock?” > > There’s not even an _idea_ there worthy of praise. It’s merely the the tinkering you’d expect from kids interested in electronics. And I’d bet anything that there have been kids doing what he did at a much younger age. We probably never heard of them because there was no arrest. That and the adults around them had a more appropriate response. I grew up with a kid that was very mechanically inclined and was constantly taking things apart to see how they worked. While he was complimented on his interest and ability, that would immediately be followed up with. > John please put the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ back together. And it better work right when you do!? > > To be clear, I do not begrudge the kid being encouraged by his teacher. I don’t hold it against him that his _non-invention_ falls well short of ideas some other kids his age come up with. His interest in scientist is good, and he should be encouraged. But science deals with reality, and the adults around him, not to mention the those who have showered praise, would have served him better if they reserved such praise for inventions and scientific creativity for those who deserve it. None of them were arrested. He gets praise because of his curiosity, and to make up for his arrest. And to signal to others that it’s not okay to arrest kids for doing nothing because they’re brown. And to signal to other kids that such tinkering and curiosity deserves praise. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1158 "2015-10-04T12:09:47Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Look, I agree that scientific interest should be rewarded and encouraged. But praise needs to be commensurate with one’s creations. He’s not being praised for the technical brilliance of his clock. He is being recognized to rebuke the school authorities and the police who overreacted. His skill as an inventor is not the point. Those who cannot defend the authorities are trying to redirect the conversation to a straw man. Mocking the clock is just hand waving the real issue: the absurd reaction of school authorities and police. Nice try. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1159 "2015-10-04T12:30:15Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Yeah, right. The same way what I write is irrelevant when you mischaracterize what I write? Words matter, you fucking dolt. If one is going to have praise heaped upon him for an “invention” of his, his “invention” should actually qualify as, you know, an _invention._ It is comical that **magellan01** believes he is in any position to lecture others about words mattering. It was also awesome that he went on to compose a huge post after this of totally irrelevant anecdotes! Hey dummy, he hasn’t gotten praised heaped on him for the clock. I predict **magellan01** will still be incapable of figuring out what is happening here. He cannot step back and think, and even if he did, he still would struggle at the thinking part. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2015, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454/1160 "2015-10-04T13:04:10Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > I predict **magellan01** will still be incapable of figuring out what is happening here. He cannot step back and think, and even if he did, he still would struggle at the thinking part. He’d be useful if the kid decided to invent a potato battery clock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=57) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ro-this-is-totally-going-to-kill-bring-your-clock-to-school-day/731454.md?page=59)