Practice - Systemic thinking |
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Let's improve your systemic thinking
Systemic thinking allows you to identify:
Below is a collection of "inventions" featured in science fiction - thus they are unlikely to be anything that you have encountered in the real world, and you will need to utilize your systemic thinking skills instead of recalling systemic issues/opportunities.
For each of these inventions think about all the systemic issues and opportunities that you can. You might list them in a table or in a mind map: whatever works for you. The key is to think about the system as parts and a whole at the same time so that you can get ideas on how to make it work best.
There is a mind map summary of someone's systemic thinking on each. Look at this after you have done your own.
Do not think that there is a correct answer to these.
The key is to be able to identify challenges and opportunities and use these to make decisions. If you have come up with less challenges and opportunities than those shown in the mind map, then you can work to improve. If you have more, then that's good and you can still work to improve. No matter how good your systemic thinking is, it's something to improve.
- all the elements of an engineering system that you can adjust in some way to optimize that system
- all issues that would be a surprise to others as you implement an engineering system or make changes to it
- opportunities that would go unnoticed by others to fully utilize an engineering system
Below is a collection of "inventions" featured in science fiction - thus they are unlikely to be anything that you have encountered in the real world, and you will need to utilize your systemic thinking skills instead of recalling systemic issues/opportunities.
For each of these inventions think about all the systemic issues and opportunities that you can. You might list them in a table or in a mind map: whatever works for you. The key is to think about the system as parts and a whole at the same time so that you can get ideas on how to make it work best.
There is a mind map summary of someone's systemic thinking on each. Look at this after you have done your own.
Do not think that there is a correct answer to these.
The key is to be able to identify challenges and opportunities and use these to make decisions. If you have come up with less challenges and opportunities than those shown in the mind map, then you can work to improve. If you have more, then that's good and you can still work to improve. No matter how good your systemic thinking is, it's something to improve.
Space armor
When fighting in space, it is essential to close off damaged parts of a space suit to save the rest of the body.
"The suit is set up to save as much of your body as possible. If you lose part of an arm or a leg, one of sixteen razor-sharp irises closes around your limb with the force of a hydraulic press, snipping it off neatly and sealing the suit before you can die of explosive decompression. Then "trauma maintenance" cauterizes the stump, replaces lost blood, and fills you full of happy juice and No-shock. So you will either die happy or, if your comrades go on to win the battle, eventually be carried back up to the ship's aid station."
From The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman.
Think about the issues and opportunities as you are implementing this space armor.
One solution
When fighting in space, it is essential to close off damaged parts of a space suit to save the rest of the body.
"The suit is set up to save as much of your body as possible. If you lose part of an arm or a leg, one of sixteen razor-sharp irises closes around your limb with the force of a hydraulic press, snipping it off neatly and sealing the suit before you can die of explosive decompression. Then "trauma maintenance" cauterizes the stump, replaces lost blood, and fills you full of happy juice and No-shock. So you will either die happy or, if your comrades go on to win the battle, eventually be carried back up to the ship's aid station."
From The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman.
Think about the issues and opportunities as you are implementing this space armor.
One solution
A true mobile home
"Oh! what is that?" cried Edric, without attending to him, as, lost in amazement, he saw a house in the suburbs gently slide out of its place, and glide majestically along the road, a lady at one of the windows kissing her hand to some one in another house as she passed. "Do my eyes deceive me, or does that house move?"
"Certainly it does," replied the doctor. "Did you never see a moving house before? You must have heard of them at any rate, for nothing can be more common. It certainly is convenient, when one wants to go into the country for a few weeks, to be able to take one's house with one: it saves a great deal of trouble in packing, and permits one to have all of one's little conveniences about one. You see that there are grooves in the bottom of the houses that just fit on the iron railways; and as they are propelled by steam, they slide on without much trouble. It does not answer, however, with any but small houses, for large ones can't well be made compact enough.
From The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century, by Jane Webb Loudon.
Published by Not known in 1828
What comes to your mind engineering when considering such a system?
One solution
"Oh! what is that?" cried Edric, without attending to him, as, lost in amazement, he saw a house in the suburbs gently slide out of its place, and glide majestically along the road, a lady at one of the windows kissing her hand to some one in another house as she passed. "Do my eyes deceive me, or does that house move?"
"Certainly it does," replied the doctor. "Did you never see a moving house before? You must have heard of them at any rate, for nothing can be more common. It certainly is convenient, when one wants to go into the country for a few weeks, to be able to take one's house with one: it saves a great deal of trouble in packing, and permits one to have all of one's little conveniences about one. You see that there are grooves in the bottom of the houses that just fit on the iron railways; and as they are propelled by steam, they slide on without much trouble. It does not answer, however, with any but small houses, for large ones can't well be made compact enough.
From The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century, by Jane Webb Loudon.
Published by Not known in 1828
What comes to your mind engineering when considering such a system?
One solution
Personal Cooling Unit
Richard Hnatt lives in a future Earth that is too hot. It is so hot that anyone who is forced to go out of doors is required to wear their own cooling unit for their own personal safety and well-being.
Looking out the window he saw with aversion that already it had become too hot for human endurance; the footer runnels were abruptly empty as everyone ducked for cover. The time was eight-thirty and he now had to leave; rising, he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit; by law one had to be strapped to every commuter's back until nightfall...He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, feeling the cool wind of the portable unit as it chugged from behind him...Shortly, he was aboard a thermosealed interbuilding commute car, on his way to downtown New York City...
From The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Doubleday in 1965
Think about the complexities encountered engineering such a system as the cooling unit
One solution
Richard Hnatt lives in a future Earth that is too hot. It is so hot that anyone who is forced to go out of doors is required to wear their own cooling unit for their own personal safety and well-being.
Looking out the window he saw with aversion that already it had become too hot for human endurance; the footer runnels were abruptly empty as everyone ducked for cover. The time was eight-thirty and he now had to leave; rising, he went to the hall closet to get his pith helmet and his mandatory cooling-unit; by law one had to be strapped to every commuter's back until nightfall...He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, feeling the cool wind of the portable unit as it chugged from behind him...Shortly, he was aboard a thermosealed interbuilding commute car, on his way to downtown New York City...
From The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Doubleday in 1965
Think about the complexities encountered engineering such a system as the cooling unit
One solution
The Dyson Sphere
The Dyson sphere, is a theorized structure that would encapsulate a sun and capture all it's energy for use by an advanced society. There are numerous versions of this idea that have been proposed. One such version can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECLvFLkvY7Y.
Relics - Episode 4 of series 6 of Star Trek the Next Generation 1992.
Consider such a system with regards to making it work and what issues/opportunities could present.
One solution
The Dyson sphere, is a theorized structure that would encapsulate a sun and capture all it's energy for use by an advanced society. There are numerous versions of this idea that have been proposed. One such version can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECLvFLkvY7Y.
Relics - Episode 4 of series 6 of Star Trek the Next Generation 1992.
Consider such a system with regards to making it work and what issues/opportunities could present.
One solution
An expanding circular table
We want a table the remains circular, but can still be expanded or contracted between two different sizes to accommodate different numbers of people to be seated.
Solution for expanding circular table
Click here to see a solution
Frame (highlight the text below to see a frame that describes the one used for this solution)
Have additive segments under a small table. Have the small table split into pizza like segments and the gaps filled in by the segment from underneath. Design the segments and a mechanism that makes this idea work.
We want a table the remains circular, but can still be expanded or contracted between two different sizes to accommodate different numbers of people to be seated.
Solution for expanding circular table
Click here to see a solution
Frame (highlight the text below to see a frame that describes the one used for this solution)
Have additive segments under a small table. Have the small table split into pizza like segments and the gaps filled in by the segment from underneath. Design the segments and a mechanism that makes this idea work.
Power Laces
Consider the power laces from Back to the Future - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Wa5L-fkkM
Back to the future 2 1989
Imagine engineering such a system and consider the systemic issues/opportunities that would present.
One solution
Consider the power laces from Back to the Future - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Wa5L-fkkM
Back to the future 2 1989
Imagine engineering such a system and consider the systemic issues/opportunities that would present.
One solution
Further practice
The above is simply the starting point. You should be trying to stretch you mind in your daily engineering work. This will naturally improve your systemic thinking ability. You can also contemplate the systemic issues in other engineering systems that you encounter at work. Or even when reading or watching something about complex engineering systems. These are all ways of exercising and developing your systemic thinking ability.
The above is simply the starting point. You should be trying to stretch you mind in your daily engineering work. This will naturally improve your systemic thinking ability. You can also contemplate the systemic issues in other engineering systems that you encounter at work. Or even when reading or watching something about complex engineering systems. These are all ways of exercising and developing your systemic thinking ability.
Helping you be the best engineer you can beThe content I have shared here is designed to help you be the best engineer you can. If you ever feel you are not developing the skills you really need, then contact me or join me online. I will do my best to help.
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