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Comment by bdangubic | Hacker News Reader

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bdangubic

Can we have more stories like this on the front page please!

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Story didn't teach me much about how these things work, what the challenges are, etc.

The vast majority of these kinds of stories are complete bunk.

Why? What do you mean by “bunk?” Do you have any examples you can point to?

Call me cynical, but pretty much 100% if the time when there is an article about "teen accomplishes almost impossible scientific feat" or "group of teens design world-saving product costing pennies", it turns out to be a disingenuous narrative pushed by some adult with an ulterior motive and often deep pockets.

The complete lack of details in the article does not do anything for its credibility.

We're so sorry - the article was independently composed. We wanted to release it later after we finished our documentation but it seems that it was posted without our knowledge. FYI we are led by a Dr. David Pulford who is currently also helping us in the project, so I wouldn't be worried about our "credibility". We are also sponsored by the InterACT ACT and the IBO, if that helps. Anyhow we are planning to publish to Phy. Ed (IOP - same journal on which CHART is composed) so I hope you will come back later after we finish!

Regardless of its bunk coefficient this is still exciting and inspiring, especially for students or low resourced people.

If I understood correctly they mean that these uplifting stories end up not panning out and it’s more about publicity than accomplishing the thing. I’m genuinely curious about the kind of SDR that works for a price like this and how you fit it into a $500 BOM.

I think that might be a bit harsh. Have there been scams on Kickstarter and other type places? Sure. Are all of them scams? Doubtful. Some people just have no experience creating a viable company selling a product that they designed. It takes people by surprise by how expensive and difficult it can be. Sadly, they find out the hard way after spending all of the money raised on redesigns and other unexpected deviations from the happy path original plan. That does not mean they were a scam from the start though

I hate to say it, but this is correct.

Who in the world would have the expertise to operate one of these? In a “low resource” high school? The problem isn’t (just) having the equipment.

There are so few teachers with enough knowledge to engage. Well-resourced, highly motivated kids might be able to read on line, but that’s a real stretch for the rest.

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