Lego sets come in all different sizes with different numbers of Lego pieces. Of course bigger sets cost more, but is there a linear relationship between set size and cost? Let’s take a look. Oh, and yes – I did look at this before, but that was a long time ago. It’s time to revisit the data. It’s not too difficult to find data for Lego prices and number of pieces. If you just look on the Lego online store. There you can find both the price and the number of pieces for each set. You can even sort them by “themes” – like “Star Wars” or “friends” Even though it’s easy to get, I only collected price data for a subset of the themes (mostly because I am lazy). If I put all of this data together, I can get a plot of the set price vs. number of pieces in set. Here is what that looks like. Let’s look at the linear function that fits this data. The slope of this line is 0.104 US Dollars per Lego piece. There is your answer. On average, one Lego piece costs 10.4 cents.
Also, I think it’s nice to notice that this data is fairly linear.What about the y-intercept for this fitting function? The value from the fit is 7.34 USD. That means that for this function, if you had a Lego set with zero pieces in it, it would still cost $7.34 – you know, for the box and instructions and stuff. Yes, I know that there are Lego sets cheaper than $7.34 – this is just the y-intercept for the fitting function. Now let me point out the three outliers in this plot. Notice that all of these (one from Duplo and two from the City theme) are train sets. Of course train sets are going to be more expensive than a set with the same number of pieces (but not a train) because of the electric motors and stuff. If you are looking for a “good deal”, might I suggest the Trevi Fountain (21020). This set has 731 pieces for just $49.99. According to the fitting function, a set with this many pieces should cost about 83 dollars. Suppose I break all the data into the different themes.
If I fit a linear function to each of the different themes, I can get both the price per piece of Lego and the price of a zero piece set. Here are the brick prices for some of the Lego themes. The error bars are the uncertainties in the fit parameters. If you know what a Duplo block is, you probably aren’t surprised that they are the most expensive (63 cents per brick). These are bricks created for smaller kids. They are all large so that you can’t swallow them. It just makes since that they would cost more. The other expensive bricks are the City sets. But this is deceiving due to the high set prices of the train kits. I suspect if you removed these train sets from the plot, it would be a more normal price. What about the base cost? This is the y-intercept of the linear fit. Here you will notice that the City theme has a negative base cost. This means that if there were no pieces (on average) in a City set, Lego would pay YOU money. But why is this negative? It’s because of the high price of the train sets.
They increase the slope of the linear fit but also push the y-intercept into negative values. The real bargains are the Architecture themed sets. These have a base cost of only 70.7 cents where as the Marvel themed sets have a base cost of 3.61 USD. I’ve probably already answered some of these questions in the past, but it would still be fun as a homework assignment. Some of these aren’t too difficult. You could think of them as Duplo Homework. Notice that not even once did I use a plural version of the term “Lego”. LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box - 10698 Enter your postcode to view Stock Levels & Delivery Options Product Features: For Ages 4+ 790 Pieces including 2 different sized green baseplates, 3 sets of eyes, 6 tyres and 6 wheel rimsIncludes a wide range of LEGO bricks in 33 different coloursFeatures 8 different types of windows and doors with 8 different framesLEGO Classic is designed to inspire open-ended creativity with the LEGO brickSpecial pieces encourage imaginative building playLarge number of windows and doors facilitates classic LEGO constructionAll models pictured can be built from this set simultaneouslyIdeas included with
/classic to help you get startedComes in a useful plastic storage box First green baseplate measures over 16cm long and 16cm wide and second baseplate 12cm long and 6cm wide respectively Delivery Information Orders placed before 5pm AEST Monday to Friday will be picked and packed within 3 business days. Delivery Time Frames The time frame for home delivery of this product depends on your delivery location. - For metro areas our delivery time frame is 3 - 5 business days - For regional areas our delivery time frame is 5 - 7 business days - For remote locations our delivery time frames is to 14 business days Once your order has been marked as shipped you will receive an email informing you of your parcel's consignment number and the carrier it is shipping with. Please note that these are estimates only. Authority to leave and redelivery You may grant the carrier authority to leave the goods at the delivery address even if unattended, but please note that neither BIG W nor the carrier will be liable for loss or theft of the goods and the goods will be left at your risk.
In addition, the carrier retains the discretion not to leave the goods unattended, including where the carrier deems it to be unsafe to do so. Please note that should the order be unable to be delivered to or left at the delivery address, redelivery fees may apply (particularly in respect of bulky orders).This summer, Cambridge University announced a search for a “.” With the support of £4 million ($6.1 million) from the LEGO Foundation, the new professor would lead an entire research department dedicated to examining play. This is an endeavor that knows all about. In the late ‘90s, he was asked by then-LEGO Group CEO, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, to explore how LEGO bricks could help a company improve its strategic planning, communication, and creative thinking. Rasmussen, a former math teacher and school principal, was already part of the LEGO family, leading product development for , which focused solely on children. What started as a project to be completed in his spare time became a defining career shift for Rasmussen, who is known as the architect of the LEGO Serious Play (LSP) methodology.
It’s like a language. It’s a technique without content,” Rasmussen told Quartz, who likens the method to an operating system. “It is the facilitator who asks a question, then the participants build the answer to that question using LEGO bricks, using them metaphorically to add meaning,” he said. Sessions can start off with a question such as, “Name one challenge that is preventing growth in your company and build your answer with LEGOs. You have four minutes. Facilitators support this process by knowing the right questions to ask and helping participants draw out the meaning from their answers made out of bricks. Just as LEGO bricks can be used to build a representation of virtually anything, the LSP method can be applied to any company objective, whether it’s solving a media crisis or brainstorming ways to transform your current business model. Rasmussen has been invited to guide companies that are looking to solve a problem. Such companies operate in a variety of industries from all over the world including Google, NASA, Coca-Cola, Toyota, and Unilever.
As the fast pace of technology calls for innovative, out-of-the-box thinking, corporations are looking for more unusual approaches to meet the challenges they face, often with “hands-on” or “unplugged” approaches. If LEGO is about anything, it’s the use of one’s hands while the mind is in an unplugged state. LEGO Serious Play capitalizes on this by asking the hands to find a solution that the mind hasn’t been able to on its own. Think about one of your passwords. Quite often we can remember it faster if we are able to type it out. In fact, if the keypads change (ie typing numbers on a keyboard vs. phone dial layout), you might even move more slowly because the fingers have forgotten where to go. Rasmussen understands this phenomena and believes it is an integral strength of LEGO Serious Play. “This is why I use the analogy: the hands function like a Google Search engine,” he said. “The subconscious rules us.” LEGO Serious Play is all about bringing those valuable subconscious thoughts to the surface.
LEGO is unlocking the knowledge from the people they feel are the most qualified to offer solutions: the employees themselves and not outside consultants. But can little bricks made for kids really do that? “That’s certainly possible,” said organizational and industrial psychologist, , who is associate professor of Economics and Business at Washington & Jefferson College. He also told Quartz that using play in the workplace to bring about more creativity is not a new idea and hasn’t been researched thoroughly. Still, Litchfield explained that the act of using bricks in the boardroom may be setting up what he called an environment of psychological safety. “You signal to them [employees] that creativity is wanted and you set up an environment for letting that loose.” Litchfield also said that once such an environment is set up, the chances of gaining more contributions from employees increase. Rasmussen realized LSP had potential after he developed a prototype and tried it on his own team 17 years ago at LEGO Education.
The moment of awakening came when the quietest members of his team shared some of the most valuable insights that day. He asked him why he had never contributed these ideas before and he replied, “Because I was never expected to.” LSP is often welcomed because of the 80-20 principle applied to meetings: 20% percent of the group will talk 80% percent of the time, with the same people doing all the talking. Inevitably, one person will bring up an idea, another will concur with a slight modification, another is not listening as he is focused on what to say on his turn, and another participant will have just given up already and checked out. “These kind of dynamics are really what LEGO Serious Play was designed to destroy,” said Rasmussen. Quartz spoke with a human resources manager at a globally established consulting and professionals services company, on the condition of anonymity, who used LEGO Serious Play to kick off the first days of training for an accelerated leadership program.
The firm had created a new program to help a group of carefully selected managers further develop their skills. The trainees underwent approximately 100 hours of the program spread over eight months. On the first day, in a workshop facilitated by Rasmussen, the trainees were asked: “How would you describe the difference between a manager and a leader?” In adherence to the LEGO Serious Play method, the participants were each given the same set of bricks and four minutes to answer the question by building it with LEGOs. The anonymous HR manager said that it was essential to begin the training program with LEGO Serious Play. He really wanted to help create a different mindset and described what would have happened if they hadn’t used LEGO bricks: “You would get some sort of standard response such as ‘A manager is a doer and a leader has a vision,’” he said. “So we wanted to tap into the science of LEGO Serious Play and that is, if you are busy with your hands then you are busy with your mind.”
“Most people think that it can be difficult to get employees to express creativity at work because most of the incentives in organizations are against it,” Litchfield said. Company incentives usually encourage routine task performance. “We like to think about creativity as this awesome thing all the time, but that’s not really true. I mean, an organization that has all creativity all the time is going to be a total failure.” Litchfield explains that in general, creativity at work will be the minority activity and is likely to surface when people see something new is needed. In the case of the managers that the HR manager had gathered for his program, the attendees contributed a variety of descriptions explaining the difference between a manager and a leader. What was most interesting was how their builds demonstrated their answers. One build was of a person watching a car go by. While it was simple, the revelation was profound. “It can be harder to recognize a moment that happens than a moment we create.
It takes awareness to slow down and not pass an opportunity by.” Another build depicted a person seated alone with a wall built between him and his colleagues. This contribution was entitled, “Stop having meetings with myself,” which basically meant the that attendee had been too concerned about whether or not his thoughts were ready for sharing. For human resource managers like the one I spoke to, there is no question that LEGO Serious Play was effective. “People don’t come away from LEGO Serious Play unmoved.” The HR manager has even undergone training himself to become a certified facilitator and has held workshops without Rasmussen. Ioanna Tsitoura, chief human resources officer at , a major telecommunications provider in Greece was charged with embedding new corporate values to the employees at her company, all 1,000 of them. “We needed to raise awareness, understanding, engagement, and at the same time motivate our employees and strengthen the ‘one team’ feeling,” she told Quartz.
To handle the large number and ensure that the workshops be carried out in Greek, Tsitoura hired a local agency to be trained to facilitate workshops with the large number of people. Tsitoura chose LEGO Serious Play because it would allow for the group to sit, interact, and “play” with one another. Her goal was to have workers at varying levels, from call center agents to C-level employees, interacting with each other, to facilitate free thinking about the new company values, and “make them more than words on paper.” Tsitoura was able to take the input of employees, collect them, and create a manual that has become a key document at WIND. “Although the message was by nature ‘soft,’ complicated and open to interpretation, we achieved a very good result investing only a couple of hours for each attendee,” she said. Litchfield calls the toys in this scenario “boundary objects”: design made by any employee in his own viewpoint can still be viewed differently by the other participants.