We all would like to get it just right.  Our soup should not be too hot so as to avoid “leather tongue”, or too cold, because cold chicken soup does nothing for the soul.  Driving either too fast or too slow on the highway is illegal and dangerous.  Shoot the basketball too softly and it does not reach the rim, too hard at it clangs off the backboard.  There is a narrow range of force and angle for which you will score, and with practice, you can find that optimized scenario with regularity.

Goldilocks is not the only person interested in finding the optimal bed or porridge.  It is in fact the primary concern for an engineer to look at a design problem, and optimize its parameters.  The goal is to design a prototype whose safety, mass, volume, cost, and delivery time fall within an appropriate domain.  The optimization problem that ensues may be thought of as a search for balance.  A computer scientist may view this as an interpolation algorithm, perhaps a bisection code, being run until a satisfactory solution is found.

We are not all engineers, but we all have relationships.  These delicate things between you and your mom, neighbour, husband, wife, or friend, take on lives of themselves.  They need to be supported and nurtured, but in a way that is appropriate.  Boyfriends and girlfriends often run into trouble if one member of the relationship is coming on too strong, or is too distant.

With children, parents are always seeking an appropriate balance between letting them be and being over-protective.  Sometimes we want to keep them wrapped up safely, but they need to experience the world for themselves.  At some point, parents must let them go, but they should not stray too far before they are ready.  A common metaphor for parenthood is the parent as the archer and the child as an arrow.  The parent must pull back, and provide direction, but if they never let go, their child will never fly.

The typical engineering balancing act is a multi-variable problem.  In the big picture, the project manager wants the job done with high quality, while meeting schedule, and at a low cost.  It turns out that this is not reasonable.  In the real world, these three key parameters must be weighted: which one can the manager accept to bend on?  The way my cousin, who is also an engineer words it, “You want it good, quick and cheap... Pick two.”

If you want a product that is of high quality at a low cost, the design phase will be long, and the product could arrive late.  If you want the product to be good and arrive on time, you will probably need to make certain consolations on the cost (high quality parts off the shelf tend to be expensive).  Of course, the alternative is a low-cost piece of crap that arrives on time.

Balancing these parameters on multiple projects that are ongoing in parallel is the norm for the modern day engineer.  It is not surprising that people with Asperger’s Syndrome gravitate towards the engineering profession.  Their attention to detail enables them to ensure that multiple criteria are met.  Some complex problems that would appear tedious to some people actually entice someone with this particular affliction.  However, most engineering positions require that relationships occur between real people as well – it is here that someone with Asperger’s will have difficulty.  The downside to the syndrome is the inability to appropriately interpret and express emotions.

Clearly, there is a big difference between inanimate parameters, like mass and cost, and human parameters, like love and hate.  I wonder if it is possible for someone to have the opposite affliction of Asperger’s.  Could someone be very adept at expressing emotions, so much so that they can visualize an engineering parameter as an emotion?  Would this be a desirable skill?  I don’t think so.  Feelings must be handled with more care than design parameters.  If you equate the importance of satisfying a multi-variable engineering problem with satisfying somebody emotionally, you would be an unproductive engineer.  People’s feelings must be handled with care; this is a time-consuming endeavour.

There are people who solve multi-variable problems as the feelings of millions hang in the balance – they are called politicians.  Fortunately for them, they do not need to have direct relationships with all of the people for whom their decisions affect directly.  Still, the constraints imposed upon politicians combined with their desire to please the majority make the job very challenging.  Perhaps an engineer would be good at solving the multi-variable problems that politicians face.  

I suppose I would vote for President Dilbert, provided that Wally is not his running mate.

Engineers are a funny bunch.  They can satisfy a complex problem through complex optimization procedures and yet struggle to mingle at wine and cheese.  Not all engineers fit this stereotype, but it does bear some truth.

We all seek balance when it comes to our work life as well as our home life.  To further complicate the issue, an additional balancing act occurs between home life and work life: we must feed both adequately.  Our work life is necessary to support our home life.  Our home life is necessary for us to thrive.

 

Let the balancing begin. 

“Everything changes on New Year’s Day,” sings Bono of U2 fame.  I don’t know whether or not that is true, but the first of January does present an opportunity for us all.  If December 31^st is a day to reflect on the year that has passed, then the following morning, once the hangover passes, is a time to consider what the coming year will bring.  We often make statements regarding the changes that we will make, known as New Year’s resolutions.

Common resolutions involve self-improvement, such as kicking bad habits, eating healthier and exercising more.  A great one for this day and age is to be good to yourself, and to devote an adequate amount of time to doing things you enjoy.  Regardless of where you are in your career, you may resolve to make adjustments or improvements at work, or even a drastic change.  Perhaps taking a course that will advance your career, or stimulate you at work represents a good resolution.

My resolution in 2011 is to continue what I started in late 2010: The Engineer’s Pulse.  This website, which was launched in October of 2010, has been well-received thus far.  I have posted about seven articles per month, and have seen the hits per month increase from 150 in October to 650 in December.  I hope that this kind of growth continues throughout 2011.

I am also encouraged by the fact that the readers of this site are scattered around the globe.  Although the majority of readers are from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, seven other countries have taken an interest, including Russia, Singapore, and the Netherlands.  The internet ensures that no place on Earth is far when it comes to sharing information.  I am happy to see that my readers emanate from all over the world, as it reassures me that not every hit on the site is my own mother’s doing in an attempt to boost my ego.

The coming year will be an exciting one for The Engineer’s Pulse.  January and February will see some provocative new posts on interesting topics.  March will be “Aerospace month”, and an “Energy month” will likely follow shortly thereafter.  I plan on making more media appearances like the one I made in mid-December on CJAD Radio.  I hope to schedule frequent classroom visits in the Montreal area as well.  Other goals include presenting some space elevator research at the 2011 Space Elevator Conference in August, as well as publishing an article in Scientific American.

The goal for The Engineer’s Pulse has always been to offer synthesized information within the scientific realm that engages people from all backgrounds.  I will make an effort to keep the topics current, and thought-provoking.  I want this site to be a place that people return to for its accurate information delivered in a friendly format, and I hope it acts as a catalyst for some intriguing debate.  I sincerely hope that interesting conversations will emerge on the comment boards in 2011.

Why is this site important?  I cannot answer for you, but I can answer for me.  I think this site is important for a number of reasons.  Looking to the future, certain commodities will go up in value, while others will lose value.  I suspect that access to accurate information will become extremely valuable.  While knowledge is power, perhaps more powerful is a reliable source of knowledge.  The book of knowledge amassed by man is growing exponentially, and no area is seeing more growth than those of science and technology.  When the quantity of information gets large, the actual value of any individual information decreases.  However, there is a corresponding increase in the importance of having a place where reliable information is stored.

The internet is an interconnected web of information that is tremendously valuable if you know how to use it.  For every useful site on the web there are at least ten pieces of garbage.  As the total number of sites increases, the diamonds become buried in the rough.  I feel sorry for my students who believe that a search on YouTube will invariably yield accurate information.  As I have written previously, there is an incredible amount one can know.  Knowing what is good, but knowing where is perhaps better.  If you have some accurate information, you have a good egg, but if you know where such information can be found regularly, you have a good chicken.  Sadly, the world is being over-run by loud, bad, sometimes evil chickens, like, for example, the political group known as the Tea Party.

Learning about science is important for everyone – not just science students.  Science affects us all.  Knowledge of science changes the way we view the world because of its philosophical implications.  It also allows us to understand the tools we use every day.  As a result, scientific knowledge is empowering.  Accurate scientific knowledge allows us to cast a responsible vote for our political leaders.  Too many people who put energy and environment high atop their key issues when elections occur haven’t a clue about how energy is produced, or why the atmosphere heats up as a result.  This is a problem.

If the above is not reason enough to read these articles, then let me offer one more: it will give you something to talk about with your friends.  I am concerned that in 2010, more online man hours were spent watching a cat clean its butt than they were actively learning about science.  Hopefully, 2011 will be different.  There must be a more valuable place to invest one’s time.  Look at the most viewed YouTube videos of all time ... The results from your search will paint a bleak picture for humanity.

If you are a student, I hope you continue to enjoy the site’s content.  If you are a parent, perhaps you will be more able to help your kids with their science homework.  If you are neither a student, nor a parent, but are simply somebody who is interested in science and how it affects us, then by all means, stay tuned, comment, and become a follower of The Engineer’s Pulse (and tell your friends).

I hope the year ahead will be a good one for you all.  Set your respective bars high, and work hard, but don’t forget to play hard as well.  Whatever you resolve to do, I hope you reach your goals, and that you derive happiness from the success.  Remember though, that happiness is not derived by basking in your achievements as much as it is by being present as you will yourself towards success.  Remember also that success is nothing more than living your life in your way.  Cheers.