The following chapter is given in its original form as a lecture
to the Engineering Society of the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Its value in furnishing a side-light on the subject of habit, to
which the preceding chapters have been more directly applicable,
lies in its emphasis on the importance of the inventor (or
designer, if you prefer) having clearly before him at all times
the effect of habits of thought and action both in himself and in
all others. These modes must be both conserved and combated in
himself when building up favorable mental state. He must build on
habit in order to have his mind continue in its application to a
chosen subject, and he must combat any tendency to follow habit
lines of thought that may have been established by observation of
the older forms or methods. His inventions must be of a kind that
will be readily made, sold, and used by men whose habits of
thought and action he cannot readily change.
This should be of value not only to the designer, but also to
those who direct or co-operate with him.
In designing the parts of a machine, the need of trimming here and
there, of giving up this or that ideal form just to get things
together, must be seen and done unflinchingly. And in the same way
the whole scheme must be made to conform to the economic
conditions.
If the machine under consideration is like a machine tool, and is
to be offered for sale, then the manufacturing, selling, and use
must be taken into account. In machine-tool design a wholly new
invention is an exceedingly rare thing, and a successful new
machine is still more rare.
We must remember our own tendency to follow precedent, and we must
make an effort to see the problem in its natural form without
being misled by the solutions evolved by others.
Be Practical.
The toughened idealist may not look or act like an idealist,
but in reality his idealism is one of the practically-wise
construction. He allows his memory to hold all that is helpful of
the past, both of the blunders or successes.
The dreamer who has been toughened by experience is one who lets
his rational brain have control. He ranks next to the stalwart
knight of the eraser, because he has the courage to arrest the
endless tinkering of design in order to get something done. He
will not let the family freeze while he is thinking up some grand
scheme of sawing and splitting wood by magic.
A most cursory glance at the machinery in use in the world will
show that the work has been done by imperfect machines. A study of
the design of any machine brings out the innumerable shortcomings.
If we see a machine that seems perfect, it is perfectly safe to
set it down in black and white that we do not fully comprehend it.
It is safe to say that the only perfect machine is the new model
that is to be tried very soon.
With these facts in mind it does not require very much courage to
go ahead with an imperfect design, but unfortunately these
thoughts will not stay in the mind of the average designer. They
are crowded out by the flood of ideas for still further
betterment. That is why it is just to give high rank to the man
who had courage to go ahead and build, even when he realized the
faults of a design.
Perhaps one of the aids to this action is the knowledge that the
apparent opportunity to improve a design may only be apparent. In
reality the change is only a change, and is no betterment, a very
common outcome of such ideas. The knowledge of the great array of
failures of such "improvements" is wholesome and helpful to bear
in mind.
The Inventor Sees Opportunities to Improve.
The inventor, from his point of view, sees the great need
and opportunity to improve the design of the machine being
manufactured. He sees that the big machines are nothing but
enlarged editions of the early and smaller ones. He knows that
with a change of size there should be a change of design. He knows
that although a granite rock weighing a few tons will not be kept
suspended in air by a heavy wind, a small part of the same rock
will be carried away by a breeze, and may be kept suspended by a
very slight current of air. He knows that the small particle of
granite has a greater superficial area in proportion to its
weight. He sees on every hand that a change of dimensions
frequently entails a change of design.
He also sees the opportunity to effect a great saving by building
the large machine for its special service, and not on the exact
lines of the smallest model. The failure of the management to
adopt his plans seems nothing less than unreasonableness to the
inventor, for like other mortals he is a trifle slow at grasping
the fact that no two beings have exactly the same point of view or
the same quality of sight.
Another inventor sees a chance to make further improvements and he
is disturbed because there is a ban on changes. He feels that the
mechanical success of his previous work should be a sufficient
guarantee of the economic advantage of the last proposed plan.
If an attempt is made to show him that the ban on changes is
absolutely necessary from an economic point of view, it is found
that the reasoning does not get the same reaction in his mind as
in that of the manager. To him the great advance of the new scheme
fully warrants the temporary expense.
Improvements May Be Disasterous.
Improvements should be sparingly made. Any improvement that
requires a change in construction or operation may be disasterous
financially.
This may all seem extremely pessimistic. But it is only seemingly
so. Experience shows it to be the true view.
If it is true, then the machine designer should know it. A mere
knowledge of mechanism is insufficient for him. A large business
experience cannot be purchased, and his success should not be
contingent on the business ability of another. He should know how
a machine should be designed, and should not depend too heavily on
the views of the business men who have not a clear knowledge of
the technical problem.
Perhaps some of you may feel that there are many other problems to
be encountered before you will meet these which I have set forth.
But we should remember that the mind holds some of such
impressions a very long time. It holds them below the threshold of
conscious thought, and under ideal working conditions it brings
them above it when they are needed.
If you have caught my meaning you will not be weakened in
enthusiasm for new work, but you will be protected in a measure
against some of the reaction due to disappointment. There is a
great field for earnest workers, and it is easy to become one by
working on the lines set forth.
Natural Fitness.
One of the first questions that arises in the mind of one who
intends to undertake machine design is, what constitutes natural
fitness for it. There seems to be no positive basis on which to
determine in advance a natural fitness for this work, but there
are certain temperamental characteristics that undoubtedly have
much to do with the success.
The temperament should be one favorable to continuity of thought
along a given line, as well as one that will by nature take an
intense interest in the subject.
If these characteristics are missing, it may be due more to the
distracting interests that in these days crowd in upon the mind,
than to a lack of natural aptitude. The absorbing interest,
however, is essential, and it may be developed by conforming to
well-known principles of orthodox psychology. Self-torture or hard
driving is not nearly as helpful as a strong inner purpose to keep
the chosen subject in the real center of conscious thought.
The subject that comes to mind when there is a lull in the outside
demands on the attention, or one that is insistent on taking
possession of the mind, even when other matters are objectively
more in evidence,--that subject is the one that holds the center
of the inner attention. That is the controlling idea or purpose.
Ordinarily, it is some diversion; occasionally, the haunting
bugbear of some unfinished work or obligation. If the mind is
dominated by such ideas or any other than the real problem in
hand, the individual is seriously handicapped.
When a problem of machine design is undertaken, the mind must make
it the real center of attraction. To one having an average
endowment for such work, this is not a difficult task, but to get
the best results it should be rightly undertaken.
Repeated Thinking.
A chosen subject is brought, with some lasting effect, to the
center of attention by repeatedly bringing it into the mind at the
moments of lull in the pressure of other affairs. The astronomers
wait for the moment of best seeing, and the designer must wait for
the actual psychological moment.
The best seeing condition for the astronomer is due in a small
measure to his own physical condition, and in a large measure to
atmospheric conditions, but the most opportune time for
clear-headed vision of the designer is due mostly to his own
physical and mental condition.
Probably no two men have their minds equally affected by their
environment or their physical condition, but the fact that there
is a most favorable time and condition for such thought and work
should continually be borne in mind. Without this a man with
natural endowment may try his wings at flight at an inopportune
time, and if he fails he may be firmly convinced that he was never
made for flying.
This undoubtedly applies equally well to other kinds of work. It
may not be strictly true of a perfectly normal man (if there be
such a creature), but it is truly applicable to many workers in
this and similar kinds of work.
This phase is mentioned in order to make clear, not only how a
designer should work, but the thought that should be kept
uppermost in the mind of one who is trying to do this work.
The physical condition is more or less dependent on the mood, and
to a great extent the mood is dependent on the condition of the
body. The strenuous gait is seldom the best, and, of course, the
extremely indifferent one is of little value. The best for the
average man is one born of a quiet environment, with mind and body
in a fairly restful condition, or still better, in a rested and
fresh condition.
Concentrating Attention.
The quiet end of the day is almost as good for clear thinking as
the early morning, especially if the day has not been overstrenuous
and the activities have been gradually tapered off.
There are many instances that would seem to show that the
strenuous gait is the best, but nearly all of these evidences are
questionable. When finally simmered down, the good work done under
high pressure is frequently due to latent ideas that were the
product of quiet thinking. The mood and the dominant idea may be
predicated as necessary.
As already stated, the habit of thought most favorable for the
persistence of a single group of ideas is attained by the practice
of switching the attention back to the desired subject.
This should be done at the opportune time. The subject should not
be forced on a tired mind. It should not be taken in as a painful
duty, but it should be made the one thing of interest. Really
valuable results can only come along the line of the dominant
thought. All other work lacks directness. It follows precedent to
an unnecessary extent.
Interest Must be Awakened, Not Forced.
Another way of saying all this is that the designer must get
interested in the particular problem, and he must have an interest
that crowds out all other thoughts, even thoughts of similar work.
It is useless, however, to say, "get interested in the work,"
unless we suggest a way to awaken interest. Surely, we know that
interest does not come at mere bidding, and that it cannot be
forced by hard work. But it can be induced by an easy process in a
normal being, providing he has not already too firmly established
a set of habit thoughts of another kind.
The normal being, by persistent intention, can establish the
desired thought habits by returning the preferred group of ideas
to mind. Interest is awakened by this comparatively easy process,
and when a genuine interest exists, the actual work follows as a
natural result, and it is a pleasure instead of a drudgery.
This is not intended as preaching in any sense; but only to bring
to mind facts known to all, with the view of implanting these
facts in the mind of the machine designer.
Some designers have done excellent work with no thought of
psychological problems. But in this more strenuous age it seems
best to take advantage of every aid to the desired end.
The intricacy of mechanism has reached such a state that new
designers are almost overwhelmed with the mere thought of trying
to comprehend the existing machines. But with the advance of the
world of machinery, there has been a better comprehension of the
working of the "thinking machine", and we must take advantage of
this knowledge in order to win out. It is particularly needful now
to study its most efficient use. We are getting to the point where
mental energy saving methods should be used.
It is not necessary to go beyond the bounds of orthodox science
for schemes for getting the best results from a given mind. We
have known for centuries that men tend to habits of thought as
well as action,--that thought habits are like ruts, and these are
encountered wherever the mind travels, and these ruts bring the
mind back to a certain central group or community of groups of
ideas.
Establishing Useful Ruts.
The real secret of success is in establishing ruts of a useful
kind, ruts with switches that may be operated by the mind at will,
or that work automatically when the mind would otherwise wander.
Since even fleeting thoughts are germs of acts, it takes no great
effort or self-torture if we will but understand the processes and
smoke out the undesirable germs, and allow and encourage the
growth of the preferred groups of thoughts. This may be called a
lazy man's way of doing things, but it is the way to conserve the
mental and physical energy, and it gets results.
In saying that the problems of the work in hand should come
automatically and agreeably into the mind when there is a lull in
the impressions being made by other things, it is not the
intention to convey the meaning that one must have no other
interests.
The mind gets its clearest view by the scheme already mentioned
for creating interest, viz., by repeatedly bringing it back to the
subject whenever it is found wandering.
The best view for invention is that which reveals the most natural
way for accomplishing the purpose for which the machine is wanted.
It should not be born of precedent. It should not follow the lines
thought out by other designers.
It readily discovers the obsolete features in existing machines,
features that were required in other days but have no use now.
Such things remain there just because later designers have
followed blindly.
All designers follow more or less. We have shown the great need of
following the set habits of users, but we should make a distinct
attempt to get back to nature; that is, to see just what is best
for the purpose, and to get the most direct and natural means. If
this is too much of a task, just hunt for the obsolete features.
Above all things, we must not try to follow another's work. We too
often follow unwittingly and to our misfortune even when we try to
keep out of the rut.
Machine designers who have done original work will tell us that it
is easier to do good work by striking out on new lines than it is
to follow the work of others, or even to tinker over some of their
own inventions of other years. It requires more ability to take up
the work of another and change it, than to start out in some
original scheme.
The machine builder knows that the success of any machine depends
on the clear-sightedness of his designer and the oneness of
purpose of all the heads of all the departments devoted to the
construction, sale, and oversight of the running machines in the
hands of the users. And last but not least, in these days of
supremacy of specialization, he knows that success comes only to
the largest group of men organized for this particular kind of
work.
All Men are Human Beings.
One of the first things we learn in the works or office is that
all men are really human beings. The second one is that the
meanest one is only so because of certain physical or mental
conditions that are the direct result of natural law. Usually it
is not necessary to drag in heredity, for we find ample cause in
his environment, within our range of vision.
As a rule, a good understanding of men insures a wholesome regard
for them, while failure to understand the other fellow (or the
equivalent, the failure of the other fellow to understand us) may
bring out many things that make us feel that he is not one whose
feelings or interests should be considered.
To any one that has had experience in the shop and a fairly
well-rounded business and financial experience in this particular
field of work, the other fellow is invariably a good fellow whenever
there is a chance for a fairly complete understanding.
If we can accept this statement tentatively, and follow it up by a
determined purpose to actually feel it, then we have obtained
something by the royal process that would have otherwise required
much time and perhaps some unpleasant experiences.
This knowledge is essential to success in designing machinery.
True, many have been successful with a very different attitude,
but engineers of the future must see to it that as many of the
phases are as favorable as can be made so.
Regarding the absorption of the knowledge of working mechanism in
the works this is greatly facilitated by a wholesome relationship
with other workers, and it is greatly handicapped without it.
Therefore, it is one of the cardinal points for the machine
designer to get thoroughly acquainted with others in the work so
as to know their likes and dislikes, as well as the mechanical
needs.
The favorable features in machine designs are: directness of
mechanism for the purpose; its simplicity and its efficiency; its
adaptability to the habit of thought and action of makers and
users.
The obstacles to its success are any of the features it may have
that cannot be readily comprehended by those who are to build,
sell, buy, and use these devices. It is of little value for real
success for a machine to be one that is readily understood by a
draftsman or manager, or that it is one that may be made to
perform wonders in the hands of a skilled expert.
The real economic success depends on the number of machines that
will be used. The number of machines that will be used depends on
the readiness with which the real workers take hold and manipulate
the machine.
To get a true conception of the value of a machine, it is
necessary to look at the showing of a business engaged in its
manufacture. In estimating the value of a machine-building
business for this purpose it is customary to speak of its "good
will."
Easiest Way to Improve.
Inventions of complete novelty and of great economic value have
attained success going in opposition to this principle of
conformity to the habit of the world. But the easiest way is to
direct improvements and inventions along lines that are the most
readily assimilated by the minds of the beings to be considered,
and this may be said to be one of the master-keys to economic
success.
The work of building the first model of a new machine may be under
the direct supervision of the inventor, and if only one machine is
to be made, the inventor can follow it wherever it is used. By
patience and industry he may instruct some one in the use of it,
but in these days there is no chance for a great economic success
in making just one machine, or in fact any machine for which there
is not a large market. Hence, we will confine our attention to
machines made in such large quantities that the complete
supervision of manufacture, sale, and use is beyond the capacity
of one person.
For all such machinery the design must more or less conform to the
thought and habits of work of all concerned. Some of the most
direct designs have failed to meet with success just because the
inventor did things in an unusual way. The unusual way is a blind
way, and is difficult to find. In some instances it amounts to no
way at all, for it is never used.
If a radical change in design is to be made, the new machine
should be one that will be the most readily understood. Obscure
parts or unusual means should be avoided.
If moving parts must be covered, some way should be provided for
convenient observation. It is the obscure departure that is the
most troublesome, and it is the obvious thing that offers the
least resistance to progress.
There is a chance to progress by obvious devices, and such
progress is enjoyed by all, from the makers to the users. It
stimulates their weak but wholesome appetite for progress.
Technical View Insufficient.
But whether the clear view of the designer is due to peculiar
fitness for seeing such things, or to proper application, the fact
remains that this clear view of the technical side is insufficient
in itself. The man with the clear view must also realize that
others do not get the same view. He must know that the mind
automatically takes in things of interest to it and wards off
others. Even when the individual apparently tries to comprehend
something in which he has no special interest, it only results in
a superficial mental impression, one that has no appreciable
effect on the actions.
This failure of mankind in general to grasp the advantages of a
new mechanism as it appears on paper is only a slight part of the
troubles to be encountered by a progressive designer.
He has to contend with habits of thought and action of all the
human beings affected by the new machine. This includes the entire
group of men in the manufacturing plant in which the machine must
be made, the business organization both in this plant and the one
in which it is to be used, and, after all this, the greatest
obstacle of this kind is to be met in the man who uses the
machine. For it is in his hands that a machine must prove its
value.
When we consider the inertia of mind and body, it is truly
marvelous that there has been any progress in machine design. In
fact, if the machine-building trade were in retrogression, with
only a few new men being taken in there would be little or no
excuse for making machine tools of new design. The older workers
would get along about as well without the improved machines.
This is not said in a spirit of fault finding. It is a great fact
that we should grasp if we are to design machinery successfully.
It is difficult for the man of sanguine temperament to really
accept this view, and it is also hard for one who is continually
searching for knowledge. But it must be appreciated, and all work
must conform to this principle, if it is to be pushed forward
along the lines of easiest progress.
Accepting this view is no barrier to progress. It will not
ultimately delay the work of a reformer if he is induced to act in
accordance with this principle. It only prevents a wreck.
The knowledge of the force of habit of man should therefore be
used in two ways:
First, when the designer is trying to make the most natural
machine for the purpose. Then he must overcome his own tendency to
follow precedent. Second, when considering the kind of a machine
that can be easily made, sold, and used, he must give due
consideration to the inertia of others, for their inertia he
cannot hope to quickly change. Reformers in this world generally
have a hard time whenever they under estimate the inertia of men's
minds and bodies.
A designer of machinery, by close application to his tasks, should
obtain a clearer view than it is possible for others to possess,
of the way a machine should be designed, made, and used. It is not
necessary to assume he has a better brain. An ordinary mind
applied to a given subject sees it more clearly than an abler mind
which has not considered the subject with the right interest.
Inventions Should Not Mix With Details.
In first working out the mechanical schemes no energy should be
wasted in trying to make the sketches correct in proportion. The
very functioning of the brain along the draftsman's line shifts it
away from the inventive mood. The exact drawing frequently shows
the necessity of change in general scheme, but that is only one of
the after-steps.
The fundamental idea is the starting-point, and must be sketched
out as fully as possible without losing the very frail thread of
thought.
A clear view of the scheme is not to be obtained on demand. The
schemer must wait in patience, as the astronomer waits for steady
air, and, like the astronomer, he must have every facility in
shipshape. The clear view is only clear to the watching eye.
The coast-wise skipper in making a fog-bound harbor will see a
buoy through a slight shift in fog, while a landsman might look in
vain.
The wanderer in the happy dreamland of mechanical scheming must
not be looking for complete drawings, specifications, and working
model of the invention he wishes to bring into the breathless and
waiting world. He must be looking through the mist of the
thickened senses as the skipper looks through the fog. The buoy
and the scheme may be never so faintly shown, but yet with
sufficient clearness to give a positive guide for the course.
Inventive schemes cannot be forced by strenuous effort. Such
effort may result in slight refinements of a given type, but never
would have invented the DeLaval or Tesla turbine.
It is not my purpose to belittle the great work that has been done
in improving existing machines, for this, after all, is the real
great work that must be done. It is the work to which the world
owes its greatest debt for progress in material wealth.
Furthermore, it is a phase that must be considered in connection
with every invention before that invention can become of value to
any one. But just now we must consider how the inventor must work
while dreaming out the fundamental ideas of a mechanical scheme.
The clear view of a mechanical scheme is more likely to come after
a good night's rest, particularly if the schemer has retired with
the problem in mind. There are times when invention comes under
severe stress, hard physical work, and mental anxiety, but the
most usual time is after a sleep which refreshed mind and body.
After this the inventor brings his scheme to the drafting board,
to patent office, to factory, and to the market, and in each case
he encounters barriers.
Designing by the Square Foot.
The ordinary work of machine design, in which well-known parts are
grouped to accomplish a given end, without much thought of
attaining anything approaching the best,--such designing is like
painting a fence, so many square feet of paper should be covered
per day. But the real higher type of work cannot be measured in
this way. It requires the forethought, the close application, the
keen interest, and the comfortable idea building.
Designing by the square foot is, however, a good preparation, and
many a good brain has been developed by such work.
The importance of designing a machine to meet all the conditions
necessary to success from a mechanical and business standpoint is
fully recognized by every one. But the grouping of the ideas in
the mind while working out the various phases must not be hampered
by the bewildering picture of all of these problems, each
demanding consideration at every move. The phase in hand must have
the concentrated attention, and the best conditions for its
solution.
The harmonizing is an after-process which must be worked out by a
series of compromises after the various component elements have
been almost independently considered.
Problems to Consider.
In taking up the problems of design of a machine, there will be
found an almost endless number of elements to consider. The
strictly mechanical problem of the best machine for the purpose
never stands alone.
What is the measure of the best machine? How much can be spent on
its design and construction? How much work is to be done? An
endless variety of questions at once crowd into the mind for
answer.
It is doubtful if all the elements could ever be tabulated in any
form that would be a positive guide in shaping the final result,
but in a general way the designer should make a fairly good guess
at the kind of standard toward which he should work.
There are, doubtless, men capable of carefully weighing the almost
infinite number of variants, but such men usually lack the
intuitive scheme of work, on which the inventive side of a
designer depends.
For the ordinary mortal the best process of working is to keep a
vague picture of the whole requirement in mind while concentrating
on some one phase.
When the inventive qualities are to be called into use, the
economic side, the business side, the manufacturing, the selling,
the personal profit in cash or glory, all these must be absolutely
crowded out of the center of the mental picture. Even fleeting
thoughts of other elements seem to prevent the inventive
functioning of the mind.
In like manner the problems of manufacturing, selling, patents,
business organization, must each be given a separate consideration.
The interval between taking up the various questions should be
as wide as possible. The mind seems to require a previous notice
of days or weeks or more in order to take up any one of these
problems, at least, with any hope of success.
The Hero of the Eraser.
The drafting board may show that no such arrangement of parts can
ever be made, that the whole scheme must be altered to make it
practical. A real hero is required for the work of juggling the
elements of a drafting board. He must have patient endurance and
sufficient strength of character to use the eraser heroically, for
the eraser is mightier than the pencil in the drafting-room. There
are a thousand valiant knights armed with pencils to one stalwart
pusher of the eraser.
In the drafting-room the work of harmonizing must go on;
compromises must be made between the ideal scheme of the dreamer
and the requirements of the manufacturing and selling departments.
Next to the noble knight of the eraser comes the idealist who has
been toughened by experience in the cold world.
The idealist aims to design and construct a perfect machine. He is
encouraged in his work by seeing a little clearer each day, month,
and year of the time spent in the right kind of application to his
work. He knows that the work of last year is faulty, that this
year's work seems nearly perfect, excepting for a certain slight
change that has just entered his mind. He cannot think of allowing
any machine to be made without this later improvement.
He is inclined to the optimistic view, his memory works best on
the good work of the past, and is extremely poor in holding afresh
the view of previous mistakes.