INVENTION

The following chapter is given in its original form as a lecture to the Engineering Society of the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Its value in furnishing a side-light on the subject of habit, to which the preceding chapters have been more directly applicable, lies in its emphasis on the importance of the inventor (or designer, if you prefer) having clearly before him at all times the effect of habits of thought and action both in himself and in all others. These modes must be both conserved and combated in himself when building up favorable mental state. He must build on habit in order to have his mind continue in its application to a chosen subject, and he must combat any tendency to follow habit lines of thought that may have been established by observation of the older forms or methods. His inventions must be of a kind that will be readily made, sold, and used by men whose habits of thought and action he cannot readily change.

This should be of value not only to the designer, but also to those who direct or co-operate with him.

In designing the parts of a machine, the need of trimming here and there, of giving up this or that ideal form just to get things together, must be seen and done unflinchingly. And in the same way the whole scheme must be made to conform to the economic conditions.

If the machine under consideration is like a machine tool, and is to be offered for sale, then the manufacturing, selling, and use must be taken into account. In machine-tool design a wholly new invention is an exceedingly rare thing, and a successful new machine is still more rare.

We must remember our own tendency to follow precedent, and we must make an effort to see the problem in its natural form without being misled by the solutions evolved by others.



Be Practical.

The toughened idealist may not look or act like an idealist, but in reality his idealism is one of the practically-wise construction. He allows his memory to hold all that is helpful of the past, both of the blunders or successes.

The dreamer who has been toughened by experience is one who lets his rational brain have control. He ranks next to the stalwart knight of the eraser, because he has the courage to arrest the endless tinkering of design in order to get something done. He will not let the family freeze while he is thinking up some grand scheme of sawing and splitting wood by magic.

A most cursory glance at the machinery in use in the world will show that the work has been done by imperfect machines. A study of the design of any machine brings out the innumerable shortcomings.

If we see a machine that seems perfect, it is perfectly safe to set it down in black and white that we do not fully comprehend it. It is safe to say that the only perfect machine is the new model that is to be tried very soon.

With these facts in mind it does not require very much courage to go ahead with an imperfect design, but unfortunately these thoughts will not stay in the mind of the average designer. They are crowded out by the flood of ideas for still further betterment. That is why it is just to give high rank to the man who had courage to go ahead and build, even when he realized the faults of a design.

Perhaps one of the aids to this action is the knowledge that the apparent opportunity to improve a design may only be apparent. In reality the change is only a change, and is no betterment, a very common outcome of such ideas. The knowledge of the great array of failures of such "improvements" is wholesome and helpful to bear in mind.



The Inventor Sees Opportunities to Improve.

The inventor, from his point of view, sees the great need and opportunity to improve the design of the machine being manufactured. He sees that the big machines are nothing but enlarged editions of the early and smaller ones. He knows that with a change of size there should be a change of design. He knows that although a granite rock weighing a few tons will not be kept suspended in air by a heavy wind, a small part of the same rock will be carried away by a breeze, and may be kept suspended by a very slight current of air. He knows that the small particle of granite has a greater superficial area in proportion to its weight. He sees on every hand that a change of dimensions frequently entails a change of design.

He also sees the opportunity to effect a great saving by building the large machine for its special service, and not on the exact lines of the smallest model. The failure of the management to adopt his plans seems nothing less than unreasonableness to the inventor, for like other mortals he is a trifle slow at grasping the fact that no two beings have exactly the same point of view or the same quality of sight.

Another inventor sees a chance to make further improvements and he is disturbed because there is a ban on changes. He feels that the mechanical success of his previous work should be a sufficient guarantee of the economic advantage of the last proposed plan.

If an attempt is made to show him that the ban on changes is absolutely necessary from an economic point of view, it is found that the reasoning does not get the same reaction in his mind as in that of the manager. To him the great advance of the new scheme fully warrants the temporary expense.



Improvements May Be Disasterous.

Improvements should be sparingly made. Any improvement that requires a change in construction or operation may be disasterous financially.

This may all seem extremely pessimistic. But it is only seemingly so. Experience shows it to be the true view.

If it is true, then the machine designer should know it. A mere knowledge of mechanism is insufficient for him. A large business experience cannot be purchased, and his success should not be contingent on the business ability of another. He should know how a machine should be designed, and should not depend too heavily on the views of the business men who have not a clear knowledge of the technical problem.

Perhaps some of you may feel that there are many other problems to be encountered before you will meet these which I have set forth. But we should remember that the mind holds some of such impressions a very long time. It holds them below the threshold of conscious thought, and under ideal working conditions it brings them above it when they are needed.

If you have caught my meaning you will not be weakened in enthusiasm for new work, but you will be protected in a measure against some of the reaction due to disappointment. There is a great field for earnest workers, and it is easy to become one by working on the lines set forth.



Natural Fitness.

One of the first questions that arises in the mind of one who intends to undertake machine design is, what constitutes natural fitness for it. There seems to be no positive basis on which to determine in advance a natural fitness for this work, but there are certain temperamental characteristics that undoubtedly have much to do with the success.

The temperament should be one favorable to continuity of thought along a given line, as well as one that will by nature take an intense interest in the subject.

If these characteristics are missing, it may be due more to the distracting interests that in these days crowd in upon the mind, than to a lack of natural aptitude. The absorbing interest, however, is essential, and it may be developed by conforming to well-known principles of orthodox psychology. Self-torture or hard driving is not nearly as helpful as a strong inner purpose to keep the chosen subject in the real center of conscious thought.

The subject that comes to mind when there is a lull in the outside demands on the attention, or one that is insistent on taking possession of the mind, even when other matters are objectively more in evidence,—that subject is the one that holds the center of the inner attention. That is the controlling idea or purpose. Ordinarily, it is some diversion; occasionally, the haunting bugbear of some unfinished work or obligation. If the mind is dominated by such ideas or any other than the real problem in hand, the individual is seriously handicapped.

When a problem of machine design is undertaken, the mind must make it the real center of attraction. To one having an average endowment for such work, this is not a difficult task, but to get the best results it should be rightly undertaken.



Repeated Thinking.

A chosen subject is brought, with some lasting effect, to the center of attention by repeatedly bringing it into the mind at the moments of lull in the pressure of other affairs. The astronomers wait for the moment of best seeing, and the designer must wait for the actual psychological moment.

The best seeing condition for the astronomer is due in a small measure to his own physical condition, and in a large measure to atmospheric conditions, but the most opportune time for clear-headed vision of the designer is due mostly to his own physical and mental condition.

Probably no two men have their minds equally affected by their environment or their physical condition, but the fact that there is a most favorable time and condition for such thought and work should continually be borne in mind. Without this a man with natural endowment may try his wings at flight at an inopportune time, and if he fails he may be firmly convinced that he was never made for flying.

This undoubtedly applies equally well to other kinds of work. It may not be strictly true of a perfectly normal man (if there be such a creature), but it is truly applicable to many workers in this and similar kinds of work.

This phase is mentioned in order to make clear, not only how a designer should work, but the thought that should be kept uppermost in the mind of one who is trying to do this work.

The physical condition is more or less dependent on the mood, and to a great extent the mood is dependent on the condition of the body. The strenuous gait is seldom the best, and, of course, the extremely indifferent one is of little value. The best for the average man is one born of a quiet environment, with mind and body in a fairly restful condition, or still better, in a rested and fresh condition.



Concentrating Attention.

The quiet end of the day is almost as good for clear thinking as the early morning, especially if the day has not been overstrenuous and the activities have been gradually tapered off.

There are many instances that would seem to show that the strenuous gait is the best, but nearly all of these evidences are questionable. When finally simmered down, the good work done under high pressure is frequently due to latent ideas that were the product of quiet thinking. The mood and the dominant idea may be predicated as necessary.

As already stated, the habit of thought most favorable for the persistence of a single group of ideas is attained by the practice of switching the attention back to the desired subject.

This should be done at the opportune time. The subject should not be forced on a tired mind. It should not be taken in as a painful duty, but it should be made the one thing of interest. Really valuable results can only come along the line of the dominant thought. All other work lacks directness. It follows precedent to an unnecessary extent.



Interest Must be Awakened, Not Forced.

Another way of saying all this is that the designer must get interested in the particular problem, and he must have an interest that crowds out all other thoughts, even thoughts of similar work. It is useless, however, to say, "get interested in the work," unless we suggest a way to awaken interest. Surely, we know that interest does not come at mere bidding, and that it cannot be forced by hard work. But it can be induced by an easy process in a normal being, providing he has not already too firmly established a set of habit thoughts of another kind.

The normal being, by persistent intention, can establish the desired thought habits by returning the preferred group of ideas to mind. Interest is awakened by this comparatively easy process, and when a genuine interest exists, the actual work follows as a natural result, and it is a pleasure instead of a drudgery.

This is not intended as preaching in any sense; but only to bring to mind facts known to all, with the view of implanting these facts in the mind of the machine designer.

Some designers have done excellent work with no thought of psychological problems. But in this more strenuous age it seems best to take advantage of every aid to the desired end.

The intricacy of mechanism has reached such a state that new designers are almost overwhelmed with the mere thought of trying to comprehend the existing machines. But with the advance of the world of machinery, there has been a better comprehension of the working of the "thinking machine", and we must take advantage of this knowledge in order to win out. It is particularly needful now to study its most efficient use. We are getting to the point where mental energy saving methods should be used.

It is not necessary to go beyond the bounds of orthodox science for schemes for getting the best results from a given mind. We have known for centuries that men tend to habits of thought as well as action,—that thought habits are like ruts, and these are encountered wherever the mind travels, and these ruts bring the mind back to a certain central group or community of groups of ideas.



Establishing Useful Ruts.

The real secret of success is in establishing ruts of a useful kind, ruts with switches that may be operated by the mind at will, or that work automatically when the mind would otherwise wander.

Since even fleeting thoughts are germs of acts, it takes no great effort or self-torture if we will but understand the processes and smoke out the undesirable germs, and allow and encourage the growth of the preferred groups of thoughts. This may be called a lazy man's way of doing things, but it is the way to conserve the mental and physical energy, and it gets results.

In saying that the problems of the work in hand should come automatically and agreeably into the mind when there is a lull in the impressions being made by other things, it is not the intention to convey the meaning that one must have no other interests.

The mind gets its clearest view by the scheme already mentioned for creating interest, viz., by repeatedly bringing it back to the subject whenever it is found wandering.

The best view for invention is that which reveals the most natural way for accomplishing the purpose for which the machine is wanted. It should not be born of precedent. It should not follow the lines thought out by other designers.

It readily discovers the obsolete features in existing machines, features that were required in other days but have no use now. Such things remain there just because later designers have followed blindly.

All designers follow more or less. We have shown the great need of following the set habits of users, but we should make a distinct attempt to get back to nature; that is, to see just what is best for the purpose, and to get the most direct and natural means. If this is too much of a task, just hunt for the obsolete features. Above all things, we must not try to follow another's work. We too often follow unwittingly and to our misfortune even when we try to keep out of the rut.

Machine designers who have done original work will tell us that it is easier to do good work by striking out on new lines than it is to follow the work of others, or even to tinker over some of their own inventions of other years. It requires more ability to take up the work of another and change it, than to start out in some original scheme.

The machine builder knows that the success of any machine depends on the clear-sightedness of his designer and the oneness of purpose of all the heads of all the departments devoted to the construction, sale, and oversight of the running machines in the hands of the users. And last but not least, in these days of supremacy of specialization, he knows that success comes only to the largest group of men organized for this particular kind of work.



All Men are Human Beings.

One of the first things we learn in the works or office is that all men are really human beings. The second one is that the meanest one is only so because of certain physical or mental conditions that are the direct result of natural law. Usually it is not necessary to drag in heredity, for we find ample cause in his environment, within our range of vision.

As a rule, a good understanding of men insures a wholesome regard for them, while failure to understand the other fellow (or the equivalent, the failure of the other fellow to understand us) may bring out many things that make us feel that he is not one whose feelings or interests should be considered.

To any one that has had experience in the shop and a fairly well-rounded business and financial experience in this particular field of work, the other fellow is invariably a good fellow whenever there is a chance for a fairly complete understanding.

If we can accept this statement tentatively, and follow it up by a determined purpose to actually feel it, then we have obtained something by the royal process that would have otherwise required much time and perhaps some unpleasant experiences.

This knowledge is essential to success in designing machinery. True, many have been successful with a very different attitude, but engineers of the future must see to it that as many of the phases are as favorable as can be made so.

Regarding the absorption of the knowledge of working mechanism in the works this is greatly facilitated by a wholesome relationship with other workers, and it is greatly handicapped without it. Therefore, it is one of the cardinal points for the machine designer to get thoroughly acquainted with others in the work so as to know their likes and dislikes, as well as the mechanical needs.

The favorable features in machine designs are: directness of mechanism for the purpose; its simplicity and its efficiency; its adaptability to the habit of thought and action of makers and users.

The obstacles to its success are any of the features it may have that cannot be readily comprehended by those who are to build, sell, buy, and use these devices. It is of little value for real success for a machine to be one that is readily understood by a draftsman or manager, or that it is one that may be made to perform wonders in the hands of a skilled expert.

The real economic success depends on the number of machines that will be used. The number of machines that will be used depends on the readiness with which the real workers take hold and manipulate the machine.

To get a true conception of the value of a machine, it is necessary to look at the showing of a business engaged in its manufacture. In estimating the value of a machine-building business for this purpose it is customary to speak of its "good will."



Easiest Way to Improve.

Inventions of complete novelty and of great economic value have attained success going in opposition to this principle of conformity to the habit of the world. But the easiest way is to direct improvements and inventions along lines that are the most readily assimilated by the minds of the beings to be considered, and this may be said to be one of the master-keys to economic success.

The work of building the first model of a new machine may be under the direct supervision of the inventor, and if only one machine is to be made, the inventor can follow it wherever it is used. By patience and industry he may instruct some one in the use of it, but in these days there is no chance for a great economic success in making just one machine, or in fact any machine for which there is not a large market. Hence, we will confine our attention to machines made in such large quantities that the complete supervision of manufacture, sale, and use is beyond the capacity of one person.

For all such machinery the design must more or less conform to the thought and habits of work of all concerned. Some of the most direct designs have failed to meet with success just because the inventor did things in an unusual way. The unusual way is a blind way, and is difficult to find. In some instances it amounts to no way at all, for it is never used.

If a radical change in design is to be made, the new machine should be one that will be the most readily understood. Obscure parts or unusual means should be avoided.

If moving parts must be covered, some way should be provided for convenient observation. It is the obscure departure that is the most troublesome, and it is the obvious thing that offers the least resistance to progress.

There is a chance to progress by obvious devices, and such progress is enjoyed by all, from the makers to the users. It stimulates their weak but wholesome appetite for progress.



Technical View Insufficient.

But whether the clear view of the designer is due to peculiar fitness for seeing such things, or to proper application, the fact remains that this clear view of the technical side is insufficient in itself. The man with the clear view must also realize that others do not get the same view. He must know that the mind automatically takes in things of interest to it and wards off others. Even when the individual apparently tries to comprehend something in which he has no special interest, it only results in a superficial mental impression, one that has no appreciable effect on the actions.

This failure of mankind in general to grasp the advantages of a new mechanism as it appears on paper is only a slight part of the troubles to be encountered by a progressive designer.

He has to contend with habits of thought and action of all the human beings affected by the new machine. This includes the entire group of men in the manufacturing plant in which the machine must be made, the business organization both in this plant and the one in which it is to be used, and, after all this, the greatest obstacle of this kind is to be met in the man who uses the machine. For it is in his hands that a machine must prove its value.

When we consider the inertia of mind and body, it is truly marvelous that there has been any progress in machine design. In fact, if the machine-building trade were in retrogression, with only a few new men being taken in there would be little or no excuse for making machine tools of new design. The older workers would get along about as well without the improved machines.

This is not said in a spirit of fault finding. It is a great fact that we should grasp if we are to design machinery successfully.

It is difficult for the man of sanguine temperament to really accept this view, and it is also hard for one who is continually searching for knowledge. But it must be appreciated, and all work must conform to this principle, if it is to be pushed forward along the lines of easiest progress.

Accepting this view is no barrier to progress. It will not ultimately delay the work of a reformer if he is induced to act in accordance with this principle. It only prevents a wreck.

The knowledge of the force of habit of man should therefore be used in two ways:

First, when the designer is trying to make the most natural machine for the purpose. Then he must overcome his own tendency to follow precedent. Second, when considering the kind of a machine that can be easily made, sold, and used, he must give due consideration to the inertia of others, for their inertia he cannot hope to quickly change. Reformers in this world generally have a hard time whenever they under estimate the inertia of men's minds and bodies.

A designer of machinery, by close application to his tasks, should obtain a clearer view than it is possible for others to possess, of the way a machine should be designed, made, and used. It is not necessary to assume he has a better brain. An ordinary mind applied to a given subject sees it more clearly than an abler mind which has not considered the subject with the right interest.



Inventions Should Not Mix With Details.

In first working out the mechanical schemes no energy should be wasted in trying to make the sketches correct in proportion. The very functioning of the brain along the draftsman's line shifts it away from the inventive mood. The exact drawing frequently shows the necessity of change in general scheme, but that is only one of the after-steps.

The fundamental idea is the starting-point, and must be sketched out as fully as possible without losing the very frail thread of thought.

A clear view of the scheme is not to be obtained on demand. The schemer must wait in patience, as the astronomer waits for steady air, and, like the astronomer, he must have every facility in shipshape. The clear view is only clear to the watching eye.

The coast-wise skipper in making a fog-bound harbor will see a buoy through a slight shift in fog, while a landsman might look in vain.

The wanderer in the happy dreamland of mechanical scheming must not be looking for complete drawings, specifications, and working model of the invention he wishes to bring into the breathless and waiting world. He must be looking through the mist of the thickened senses as the skipper looks through the fog. The buoy and the scheme may be never so faintly shown, but yet with sufficient clearness to give a positive guide for the course.

Inventive schemes cannot be forced by strenuous effort. Such effort may result in slight refinements of a given type, but never would have invented the DeLaval or Tesla turbine.

It is not my purpose to belittle the great work that has been done in improving existing machines, for this, after all, is the real great work that must be done. It is the work to which the world owes its greatest debt for progress in material wealth. Furthermore, it is a phase that must be considered in connection with every invention before that invention can become of value to any one. But just now we must consider how the inventor must work while dreaming out the fundamental ideas of a mechanical scheme.

The clear view of a mechanical scheme is more likely to come after a good night's rest, particularly if the schemer has retired with the problem in mind. There are times when invention comes under severe stress, hard physical work, and mental anxiety, but the most usual time is after a sleep which refreshed mind and body. After this the inventor brings his scheme to the drafting board, to patent office, to factory, and to the market, and in each case he encounters barriers.



Designing by the Square Foot.

The ordinary work of machine design, in which well-known parts are grouped to accomplish a given end, without much thought of attaining anything approaching the best,—such designing is like painting a fence, so many square feet of paper should be covered per day. But the real higher type of work cannot be measured in this way. It requires the forethought, the close application, the keen interest, and the comfortable idea building.

Designing by the square foot is, however, a good preparation, and many a good brain has been developed by such work.

The importance of designing a machine to meet all the conditions necessary to success from a mechanical and business standpoint is fully recognized by every one. But the grouping of the ideas in the mind while working out the various phases must not be hampered by the bewildering picture of all of these problems, each demanding consideration at every move. The phase in hand must have the concentrated attention, and the best conditions for its solution.

The harmonizing is an after-process which must be worked out by a series of compromises after the various component elements have been almost independently considered.



Problems to Consider.

In taking up the problems of design of a machine, there will be found an almost endless number of elements to consider. The strictly mechanical problem of the best machine for the purpose never stands alone.

What is the measure of the best machine? How much can be spent on its design and construction? How much work is to be done? An endless variety of questions at once crowd into the mind for answer.

It is doubtful if all the elements could ever be tabulated in any form that would be a positive guide in shaping the final result, but in a general way the designer should make a fairly good guess at the kind of standard toward which he should work.

There are, doubtless, men capable of carefully weighing the almost infinite number of variants, but such men usually lack the intuitive scheme of work, on which the inventive side of a designer depends.

For the ordinary mortal the best process of working is to keep a vague picture of the whole requirement in mind while concentrating on some one phase.

When the inventive qualities are to be called into use, the economic side, the business side, the manufacturing, the selling, the personal profit in cash or glory, all these must be absolutely crowded out of the center of the mental picture. Even fleeting thoughts of other elements seem to prevent the inventive functioning of the mind.

In like manner the problems of manufacturing, selling, patents, business organization, must each be given a separate consideration. The interval between taking up the various questions should be as wide as possible. The mind seems to require a previous notice of days or weeks or more in order to take up any one of these problems, at least, with any hope of success.



The Hero of the Eraser.

The drafting board may show that no such arrangement of parts can ever be made, that the whole scheme must be altered to make it practical. A real hero is required for the work of juggling the elements of a drafting board. He must have patient endurance and sufficient strength of character to use the eraser heroically, for the eraser is mightier than the pencil in the drafting-room. There are a thousand valiant knights armed with pencils to one stalwart pusher of the eraser.

In the drafting-room the work of harmonizing must go on; compromises must be made between the ideal scheme of the dreamer and the requirements of the manufacturing and selling departments.

Next to the noble knight of the eraser comes the idealist who has been toughened by experience in the cold world.

The idealist aims to design and construct a perfect machine. He is encouraged in his work by seeing a little clearer each day, month, and year of the time spent in the right kind of application to his work. He knows that the work of last year is faulty, that this year's work seems nearly perfect, excepting for a certain slight change that has just entered his mind. He cannot think of allowing any machine to be made without this later improvement.

He is inclined to the optimistic view, his memory works best on the good work of the past, and is extremely poor in holding afresh the view of previous mistakes.

THE END