Robert Lynn <[email protected]> wrote: Strange, in my observation 3 things define the best engineers I know (of > few hundred I have met): > 1 Excellent/encyclopedic memory - at least for engineering stuff, may not > be able to remember their friends names or where they put their keys. > 2 Good at mental calculation (assess what-ifs quickly). > 3 Powerful work ethic. >
Different kinds of people with different kinds of minds can make contributions. At the beginning of a project you might need someone with freewheeling imagination not constrained by facts. Later you want someone good at mental calculation. Many discoveries come from a temporary suspension of facts or common sense, which some people are good at. A person good at mental calculation may not be. Here is a classic example: Q: How do you reduce pollution in rivers from factories? A: You mandate that all factories must be built downstream to themselves. This makes no sense at first glance but it is a practical idea that has been widely implemented. It means the water inlet pipe for a factory must be placed below the water outlet pipe. You don't have to put the entire factory downstream of itself, just part of it. Work ethic is good but some people get their best ideas half-asleep. There is a story of Henry Ford. He brought an efficiency expert into his factory who spent a few weeks looking around and talking to people. The expert came into Ford's office and said: "I have met all of your staff and I impressed with everyone except for that fellow at the end of the hall. Every time I see him, he has his feet up on the desk, his hands behind his head and he's gazing up into space. He doesn't seem to do any work." Ford said, "leave him alone, he once saved me a million dollars when he had his feet up on the desk like that." - Jed
