Episode #832
January 11, 2025
I have known many skilled mechanics. My neighbor is such a man.
Tyler can rebuild an engine, weld a repair, craft a sculpture, manipulate hydraulics and move earth. A mechanic is an engineer. The best engineers are applied physicists. An applied physicist is one who sees the world in clear relational reality. He executes his actions with precision. He sees reality for what it is.
There is no task that Tyler cannot accomplish given time for observation, analysis, planning and execution. An engineer is the paradigm practitioner of the scientific method.
The Scientific Method:
- Observation
- Ask a Question
- Form a Hypothesis
- Design an Experiment
- Collect and Analyze Data
- Draw Conclusions
- Communicate Results
- Iterate
- And I would add: execute.
In nearly, if not all systems there is cause and effect. If followed, each cause leads to an effect that is a cause that leads to an effect. This string of objects or events can be followed from beginning to end. Reverse engineering is following the string from end to beginning. There is virtually no difference between taking something apart and putting it together.
The Volkswagen Manual for the Compleat Idiot includes exploded views of VWs that are an engineer’s dream.
Exactness is an engineer’s primary tool.
A young apprentice under my tutorage at the architectural mill was put in charge of building the 16’ long cash counter wooden face frames. David was marking out the vertical stiles on the horizontal top and bottom rails. He did not have a 16’ tape measure so he measured one opening after another, measuring over to each stile and drawing a line across the two rails. He repeated the process from one mark to the next for eight stiles. When he got to the last opening the remaining space was 1/4” short.
“What is going on?” David asked me.
“Let me see your pencil.” I saw that the pencil was dull. “Your pencil lines must be as close to zero thickness as possible. Sharpen your pencil.”
The graduations on a tape measure are not approximations. Transferring marks must be exact. David’s marks moved slightly to the right each time, adding up to the 1/4″.
I applied for a job at Garret Air Research. A test for employment was to describe a ball point pen that the interviewer handed me. Without disassembling the pen and without the aid of a straight edge or ruler I freehanded an inaccurate drawing. I did not get the job.
My skill was with language, not drafting. I might have passed the test had I written a detailed description of the pen, such as this:
“When you press the ballpoint pen against the paper, pressure from the ballpoint causes the ball to rotate within the nib. This movement pulls ink from the reservoir and transfers it to the paper. The ink flow control mechanism ensures that the ink is deposited evenly without leaking or flooding the paper, providing a smooth writing experience. The barrel holds everything in place, and the grip allows for comfortable handling and better control.”
Measure twice cut once is a paradigm in woodworking. It emphasizes the value of careful planning and double-checking before taking irreversible action. I wish I had a hundred dollars for every time I cut to the wrong side of the blade.
Engineers analyze the task, carefully plan their actions and execute them with precision.
The physicist in me strives with every project to be a mechanic and an engineer.
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