Item — HN Reader

Awesome list of engineering wisdoms!

This one probably the best:

36:Any run-of-the-mill engineer can design something which is elegant. A good engineer designs systems to be efficient. A great engineer designs them to be effective.

This statement reminded me of the popular quote on teacher, “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”

4 comments

Unless you can decide what elegant, efficient, and effective mean for your project that statement is empty.

Elegant might be open for debate, but efficient means good use of needed resources and effective that the desired outcome is actually achieved.

Elegant engineering work is work that has good properties as evaluated by other engineers and that don't directly impact the properties non-engineers care about (what doesn't mean that aren't impacts, just not direct ones).

I don't think you will find this in any dictionary, but the meaning is incredibly consistent, even on different engineering areas and different languages.

I would say, if engineers can even identify what the desired outcome is, they are already on the path to being excellent (or maybe, if they even attempt to identify what the desire outcome is!)

Cheap, fast, good.

Mediocre: pick one. Adequate: pick two. Outstanding: pick three. And customers are happy too.

That’s why good teaching is hard.

I thought the quote on teachers are 'those that can't do, teach'. I have definitely had a few teachers that inspired, but a far greater number that were much more appropriately lumped into the "can't do" category.

I would say the best teacher listens - how can you direct someone somewhere if you don't know where they are?

Of course, only really feasible for 1-1 teaching.

TIL that great (and excellent) are stronger adjectives than superior. Thanks.