Visual Thinking by Temple Grandin Ph.D

Author:Temple Grandin, Ph.D. [Grandin, Temple]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2022-10-11T00:00:00+00:00

Risky Business

Engineers calculate risk. They are trained to apply mathematics to problem-solve. (This requires lots of algebra and higher-level math.) Years ago, when I first looked at the curriculum for a top US engineering program, I noted that it required numerous advanced math classes but only a single drafting class. This was my first clue that engineers are not object thinkers. Digging deeper, I compared the curricula of three highly regarded programs in engineering, architecture, and industrial design. The engineering program required the most math and physics classes. Industrial design emphasized art and drawing. And the architecture program split the difference, requiring more math classes than industrial design but not as many as engineering. Industrial design and architecture are fields where object visualizers can excel. Most engineers, regardless of their specialty, are visual-spatial minds.

Out in the field, I have noticed a hierarchy that accords higher status to the work of engineers than to the drafting departments and machine shops that are responsible for realizing the engineers’ designs. (University programs have similar if unspoken ranking systems.) I recently visited two organizations, one aerospace and the other high-tech, where engineers with university degrees had fancy offices, while the drafting department was stuck in a service tunnel. The machinists were stuck in the basement. Where they put you tells a lot about how much your job is valued by upper management. Yet without machinists and welders, you could never execute or build anything. People who may not have university degrees, who may not do well in math, who may be quirky, can nevertheless be skilled members of a team. We need to foster the collaboration of object visualizers and spatial visualizers, especially where public safety is concerned.

A look at 2021’s cutting-edge space missions by the United States and China clearly shows the need for skilled craftsmen. I looked up the cameras that are now taking gorgeous pictures on Mars. They are beautifully hand-wired. The intricate wiring must be perfectly installed, or the cameras may fail. The people who built the cameras and wired the Mars rover do not get sufficient credit.

The successor to the Hubble Space Telescope has been launched, and it is one hundred times more powerful. This project was delayed for years. One reason for the delays was poor workmanship. Rockets shake their payloads when they take off. To ensure that the new telescope would survive the rigors of the launch, it was subjected to a shake test. It failed miserably, and dozens of bolts and fasteners were scattered. A good object visualizer in the shop could have addressed this problem. They would have visualized the effect of the shaking and designed fasteners that would have withstood liftoff. As of this writing, after months of calibration, the James Webb Space Telescope was sending back wondrous photos of galaxies from the farthest reaches of the universe.

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