
An Engineer Creates for Fun After a Lifetime of Workaday Rules - tomek_zemla
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/21/your-money/an-engineer-creates-for-fun-after-a-lifetime-of-workaday-rules.html
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xnull2guest
I've often thought about engineers as artists whose medium happens to be
directly and predictably profitable - and so are tamed by management,
corporations and profit structures for the capture and the directing of their
creative potential.

There are bountiful comparisons between professionals everywhere on the
spectrum from the hardest of sciences through the pliable ones to artists and
poets, so I'll spare myself from typing and you from reading a repeated
effort.

Thinking of engineers this way has impacted the way that I discuss with other
engineers about their ideas for projects and how to solve problems. Like a
collaborative art piece, it isn't right to 'correct' other artists
contributions because their work is more than just a contribution - it's an
expression. When collaborating on a joint art project it's wholey important to
share the same 'artistic vision'. I find working with other engineers both the
most enjoyable and the most productive when a similar type of shared vision
can be reached.

Finally (and this is whimsical) on more than one occasion in thinking of
engineers sharing a spectrum with artists I have been led to both imagine a
Sotheby's style auction clearinghouse for 'engineering art philanthropists'
where pet projects are traded, sold and hung on walls and imaginary
corporations that build giant finger paints but relegate each artist to their
own cubicle, have middle management stack rank them, and tally updates on the
painting progress during daily scrum.

~~~
VLM
"imagine a Sotheby's style auction clearinghouse for 'engineering art
philanthropists' where pet projects are traded, sold and hung on walls"

This portion is basically the better parts of kickstarter. I've funded a movie
about the 6502 microprocessor (kindly hurry up Jason Scott) and a CPM based
single board computer and what boils down to a PDP-8 SBC and theres plenty of
stuff I haven't funded in that category like software defined radio dev
boards.

The latter, corporate dystopia part, doesn't sound very appealing to me.

"When collaborating on a joint art project"

Observationally, much like novels, plays, paintings, poems... the product of
one excellent mind is invariably better than any team production, both in lit
and engineering. Team always falls short of the individual. This is a profound
thoughtcrime, hope I don't get in much trouble for it. As for the weasel
words, not all projects are necessarily artistic, good enough is often good
enough, etc.

~~~
elviejo
In his latest book: The design of design. Brooks says The sale thing that in
his experience great design comes from The indindividual por at most two
designers.

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falcolas
I would love to be one of these "continuers", but I can't imagine ever being
able to retire. I don't have a pension plan; I have a volatile savings fund
tied intrinsically to the economy. I may or may not have social security, but
$1000 a month is not much to live on in this day and age (it doesn't even
cover a quarter of my grandmother's assisted care living costs). I am unlikely
to ever be part of a multi-billion dollar buy out, and I don't have an
inheritance waiting for me when my parents pass away.

And before the "Mr. Money Mustache" squad comes, no, I am not willing to defer
living my life today just so I may be able to live it tomorrow.

I am, on the other hand, lucky to be skilled in a market in which I can
continue to work in so long as I have my mental faculties. I guess I'll take
that for what it's worth.

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Saving 10% of your income is not really the same as "defer living my life".
Its more like "stop drinking so many lattes". You can save for retirement
without much pain. Just discipline.

~~~
falcolas
MMM isn't 10%, it's closer to 60%.

To quote:

> But a middle-class American family with two teachers making $60k each per
> year, who are currently saving zero and struggling to get by? THEY SHOULD BE
> SOCKING AWAY $5000 PER MONTH. Word.

I'm personally doing closer to 15% per paycheck, but the realist in me knows
that will never be enough to retire on.

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siavosh
After watching the RO-BOW, I was thoroughly impressed by the inventor. But I
also got two simultaneous feelings which I don't ever recall having when
confronted by some technology:

1\. I felt like I saw a glimpse of the future where a computer was built to
express human emotion, and it was beautiful.

2\. A sense of horror seeing the moving parts playing human written notes,
making a mockery of the human experience.

I think it was the final tune, and the music that made the whole video so
poignant. So in this sense, this machine is a piece of art.

~~~
keithpeter
Have a look at a book published in 1930 by the composer Henry Cowell _New
Musical Resources_. He is imagining a future where composers can realise music
directly without performers.

Conlon Nancarrow realised part of Cowell's program by writing piano music note
by note with a player roll punch. He was pushing the medium and the resulting
compositions are very hard if not impossible for a human pianist to play.

Daphne Oram used a more analogue system of photocells, blank cinema film and
black ink to 'draw' music directly - her system specified the amplitude,
frequency and harmonic complexity of sounds through time.

RO-BOW is an art work, but it strikes me as sort of like a deliberate use of
black and white film in a pin hole camera by a photographer. Quaint,
interesting, thought provoking, but quite retro when you can record images in
full colour with enormous resolution. This paragraph isn't quite capturing
what I'm trying to say so I'll have another think...

~~~
siavosh
I agree, there's nothing 'innovative' with this ingenious machine. For all
it's technology it's an anachronism. But what was so unique, for me, was it
illustrated the most human of things (a playable violin) with almost a steam
punk factory built around it. It would be an interesting piece in a movie :)

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keithpeter
_" Nancy K. Schlossberg, 85, a retiree counselor and former University of
Maryland psychologist, calls men and women who exploit the skills of their old
jobs “continuers.” She calls those who take up something new “adventurers.”
Continuers and adventurers make up the vigorous end of Dr. Schlossberg’s
retirement spectrum, opposite those she calls “retreaters” who disengage from
life and “spectators” who just watch."_

I can see myself being a continuer but I have a strategy in place to
force/cajole myself into adventuring. My mother was, alas, a retreater despite
strenuous efforts from family members. Useful categories for thinking about
all of this.

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lips
Oh pleasepleaseplease let Radiohead hear about his MIDI controlled electro-
mechanical violin machine:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPTUM2_bxnQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPTUM2_bxnQ)

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VLM
The article hints that people who don't watch TV do stuff, which is self
evident. The interesting part about engineers who don't watch TV isn't that
they do stuff, which is almost self evident, its that their stuff actually
works.

My kids and I both play, its just that my play stuff actually works.

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tomek_zemla
Learnt recently that origins of the word 'technologist' are from Greek
'tekhne' which is art/craft...

~~~
gaius
The French word Ingineur means one who is ingenious, whereas the English word
engineer means one who works on engines. That tells you all you need to know.

~~~
tlammens
The French word for engineer is ingénieur, which originates from engigneor
which has the same roots as the English word engineer...

