| Living by imperatives |
| When I was quite young, I stuck the "toilet plunger" onto our hall mirror. I pulled it off and broke the mirror. I'll never do that again. |
| These "dumb" things I did were learning experiences. We live by the rules we find. That simple experience in the hall with the mirror was really an early foray into device physics. And I learned a lot. The suction cup really stuck onto it. It felt smooth and cold. I got to see a non-linear transition--avalanche breakdown mode. Sharp pieces remained. They wern't reflective on the back. For each of these aspects, there appeared a whole new set of rules for behavior. For each error, I know what I shouldn't have done. And I won't forget. It reduces to instinctive behavior. |
| I look at a desired outcome with an eye toward existing resources. There are usually robust resources. Getting to the desired result would be easy if it weren't for these pesky constraints. It's like a game of Sissor-rock-paper. But by knowing the limitations of materials, you can work around obstacles. The real question is "through what great lengths must we go to achieve this?" With time we (hopefully) envision simpler ways. |
| After years of tinkering, we understand safe-operating areas for a multitude of devices. We understand associated failure modes. With each, we know what to "never do." We understand efficiency in our area of concern. Then we start putting devices together. . . . |
| I call my ever-growing list of things I can't do, my imperatives. Nothing is absolute. I'm willing to look at the finer points if there are any. For the most part, I live by my imperatives. |
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