Build the tallest freestanding tower out of 1 piece of paper and a meter of tape. Tower must stand for at least 10 seconds, cannot be secured down, must be movable. Tape and scissors can only be used as tools and not part of the measured height of the tower.
Two iterations were done. On first iteration, there was significant variability in the designs. In the second iteration, the designs tended to all use a tripod design.
Weston notes:
Iteration is critical to design. Most inventions are not developed all at once, but over time.
Technology= Knowledge of techniques - How to make
thingsEach change in technology- stone age, bronze age, iron age, invention of
concrete, invention of arch, electronics—has changed society
Examples:
- Food Preparation technology
(recipe)
- Cleaning Technology
- Writing Technology
Engineering:
Engineering(one definition) is designing a solution to a human need based on a (mathematical ) model of materials, which is good enough for the required task. It does the job, with an adequate margin of safety, but is not wasteful.
Example: Pizza Engineering: How many pizzas do you order if 10 friends are coming for a pizza party?
Engineering Model: Average person eats 2 slices, but some might eat more.
Calculation: If 8 slices per pizza, you might order 3 pizzas( safety factor of 2 slices) or 4 pizzas ( safety factor of 10 slices).
The most efficient design is the least expensive one that meets the performance criteria. Engineering designs always involve trade-offs- speed vs force, cost vs performance.
Failure- carefully analyzed- is essential to engineering design, as it reveals the weak points of structures and their design limits .
An elegant design is the simplest design that does the job well. Apple products exemplify this concept:
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