Someone sent me a link to a video of ‘Agnes the Knitting Robot.’ Scouts honor! Agnes was created by Andy Noyes, a British artist/engineering kind of guy. With her plastic face in front and exposed gears in back, decked out in a black ensemble, including knee socks (?) Agnes sat in the corner of a living room for five hours knitting a black and red scarf. Really.
My question about all of this is … why? On the one hand, Agnes seems a little creepy to me. I sure wouldn’t want her in my living room all day. But then, I got to thinking about everything this Andy fellow had put into creating Agnes – the pure brain power of building a robot, let alone one that knits. And then I had the most important thought of all: who am I to judge!?
Creativity is one of humanity’s greatest talents and strengths. Who knows what else dear Andy might come up with. Besides, if all he ever does is make a robot and share his video about his accomplishment, he at least entertained 28,000 people who watched Agnes work her magic. That’s quite a nice contribution all by itself.