For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Words to the wise from Richard Feynman
Words to the wise from Richard Feynman
This came up on the topic of software construction at Slashdot, but I thought that Richard Feynman's appendix to the Challenger report was fascinating reading. The final sentence applies to pretty much any engineering endeavor you can name:
^Funny i just read that in bed this morning....
Feynman was such a champ. I found his comments on the difference between bottom up and top down engineering to be rather poignant. He stressed that bottom up engineering, when you engineer each component according to its individual loads environment and needs which in turn gives you numbers and hard data you can constantly reuse further up the chain as systems merge and complexity increases. Is the only way build reliable systems with confidence. Yes It may take more time and money, but its the only way you can be sure.
Compared to the top down system where they are working backward from an overall set of performance specifications down to the component level. Success is possible but when design errors are found they are often very timely and expensive to rectify.
A top down polywell aint gonna kill people like challenger, but last thing we need is expensive mistakes damaging our credibility.
We need another "little boy". Refering to the first atomic bomb they flicked the switch and got it right the first time.
Feynman was such a champ. I found his comments on the difference between bottom up and top down engineering to be rather poignant. He stressed that bottom up engineering, when you engineer each component according to its individual loads environment and needs which in turn gives you numbers and hard data you can constantly reuse further up the chain as systems merge and complexity increases. Is the only way build reliable systems with confidence. Yes It may take more time and money, but its the only way you can be sure.
Compared to the top down system where they are working backward from an overall set of performance specifications down to the component level. Success is possible but when design errors are found they are often very timely and expensive to rectify.
A top down polywell aint gonna kill people like challenger, but last thing we need is expensive mistakes damaging our credibility.
We need another "little boy". Refering to the first atomic bomb they flicked the switch and got it right the first time.
Purity is Power