December 19, 2001

11:10 AM

Proof that there are some brilliant teenage girls out there.This robotic rescue device was created by a couple of teenaged twin sisters, no less. Just imagine what these two will accomplish by the time they reach adulthood. The Craig sisters make excellent alternative role models to the likes of Britney and Christina. You go, girls.
posted by jonmc (24 comments total)

Proof that there are some scary teenage girls out there. And they're twins, too.
posted by ColdChef at 12:06 PM on December 19, 2001

in either case, who needed proof?
:-)
posted by quonsar at 12:09 PM on December 19, 2001

Just imagine what these two will accomplish by the time they reach adulthood.

Their own calendar?
posted by KLAX at 12:36 PM on December 19, 2001

Hey, from the little newspaper picture, they do look pretty hot...
posted by tweebiscuit at 1:06 PM on December 19, 2001

Heather is clearly the more attractive of the two, while Hanna's just too "mannish" for pinup work. But sadly, they still just don't have large enough breasts to pay attention to them, and their silly little gizmo. These girls should be focusing on their cooking skills so they can marry a good man. ;)

Seriously, that's pretty cool. Stuff like this always reminds me that whenever I start thinking I'm pretty smart, I can just recall that when I was 17 I was a depressed slacker loser. Puts things in perspective, brings the ego down a notch or two.
posted by hincandenza at 1:15 PM on December 19, 2001

"Smart" trumps "pretty" for me.
posted by ColdChef at 1:31 PM on December 19, 2001

OK, but no leading "smart" until after first blood.
posted by rodii at 1:32 PM on December 19, 2001

Man, rodii, did I interpret that wrong for a second before I stopped to think about it...
posted by ColdChef at 1:35 PM on December 19, 2001

I think I'm in love... but seriously, the project would've been challenging and impressive as a senior design project at college.
posted by gyc at 1:37 PM on December 19, 2001

I think those girls rock.

I also think they look like Hanson.
posted by websavvy at 1:54 PM on December 19, 2001

The wording of the post makes it sound like brilliant teenage girls are hard to come by. They aren't, or at least not any harder to come by than brilliant teenage boys. And I'm kind of irked by just how quickly this thread went from lauding the accomplishments of two intellegent teens to whether or not they are attractive.
posted by jennyb at 1:58 PM on December 19, 2001

(misspelling intelligent is the most embarrassing spelling error ever)
posted by jennyb at 1:59 PM on December 19, 2001

(misspelling intelligent is the most embarrassing spelling error ever)

If you're cute, Jennyb, it's okay.
posted by ColdChef at 2:04 PM on December 19, 2001

grrrrrr
posted by jennyb at 2:27 PM on December 19, 2001

okay, I took a look at your website. Feel free to make all the spelling errors you'd like.
posted by ColdChef at 2:54 PM on December 19, 2001

Stuff like this always reminds me that whenever I start thinking I'm pretty smart, I can just recall that when I was 17 I was a depressed slacker loser. Puts things in perspective, brings the ego down a notch or two.

Then on the other hand...there's THIS:
"Amalie Helms and her fiance Michael Kucharski dress up as hobbits for the midnight showing of 'Lord of the Rings' in Birch Run, Mich. (AP)"
(From WPost front page...cycled pix)

Fell better now?
posted by HTuttle at 3:01 PM on December 19, 2001

Odd, the pictures from Wired don't look anything like their pictures on their other site... Something fishy is going on here...
posted by warhol at 3:10 PM on December 19, 2001

I would guess the number of brilliant teenage girls to boys is probably about even. But I do think that, at least in America, brilliant girls, especially attractive ones, are subtly socially discouraged from displaying that brilliance. It's not as it should be, and it's changing, but it's still a reality. So, it's nice to see attractive girls who are willing to display their smarts. As I definitely find smart girls more attractive, I would that it were always that way.
posted by bingo at 5:04 PM on December 19, 2001

I'd hope this robotic rescue device floats (pun UNintended).

Won't there be an issue with the extreme cold of parts of Alaska and the detrimental effect on the batteries (however many there are?)

"The robot is run on two 12-volt drive motors -- one on each of the Ice Crawler's tracks.

The Ice Crawler is powered by a 12-volt portable battery. "

More bad journalism or is there a difference between the robot and the Ice Crawler?
posted by DBAPaul at 5:19 PM on December 19, 2001

Duh, now I see it: motors vs robot. Gak, Got To Pay Attention to what I read.
posted by DBAPaul at 5:47 PM on December 19, 2001

But I do think that, at least in America, brilliant girls, especially attractive ones, are subtly socially discouraged from displaying that brilliance. It's not as it should be, and it's changing, but it's still a reality.

thanks bingo. i just had to make sure this phrase got repeated again. And also ad...the discouraging isn't always Subtle.
posted by th3ph17 at 6:22 PM on December 19, 2001

jennyb- i wasn't saying that brilliant teenage girls are rare(my girlfreind once was one), just that it's rare that you hear about it.
posted by jonmc at 7:09 PM on December 19, 2001

stupid men look for stupid women.

and vice versa.
posted by cx at 8:23 PM on December 19, 2001

bingo: I agree with you, from firsthand experience, being a geek girl. Most girls are really discouraged (however subtly) by society, teachers, etc. from pursuing "geeky" professions. If it hadn't been for my parents' encouragement I never would have ended up as a computer scientist. I'd like to think that things are getting better, but the last time I went back to visit my old high school there were no girls in the grade 12 computer programming class.

cx: I've often observed smart men with stupid women, but you'll rarely see a smart woman with a stupid man... ;)
posted by sanitycheck at 9:21 PM on December 19, 2001