INTRODUCTORY 



common sense, so called according to the definition of a witty 

 Frenchman because it is the least common of the senses. 



It should be realized clearly that the true designer is a maker, 

 not an imitator. The function of the designer is to create. His 

 value as a live factor in the engineering world will increase by 

 just so much as he rises above the level of the mere copyist. 

 The man who can see what has to be done, and how it may be 

 done, is always of greater value than the man who merely does a 

 thing, however skilfully, when the manner of doing it has been 

 explained to him. 



In addition to a sound knowledge of engineering principles 

 and practice, a designer should preferably have a leaning toward 

 original investigation or research work. He should not be bound 

 by the trammels of convention, nor discouraged by the ground- 

 less belief that what has been done before has necessarily been done 

 rightly. On the contrary, he should assert his personality, and 

 have the courage of his own opinions, provided these are based, 

 and intelligently formed, on established fundamental principles, 

 the truth and soundness of which are undeniable. 



If the chief function of the designing engineer is to create, 

 the cultivation of the imagination is obviously of the utmost 

 value. This is a point that is frequently overlooked. In other 

 creative arts, such as poetry and painting, intuition and a fertile 

 imagination are considered essential to success, and there 'can be 

 no valid reason for undervaluing the possession of these qualities 

 by the engineer. The work of the designer is artistic rather 

 than purely scientific; that is to say it requires skill and ingenuity 

 in addition to mere knowledge. Without a sound basis of 

 engineering knowledge, the designer is not likely to succeed, 

 because his conceptions, like those of many so-called inventors, 

 would have no practical application; but it is also true that the 

 great designers, even of mechanical and electrical machinery, do 

 not always understand why they have done a certain thing in a 

 certain way. They work by intuition rather than by methods 

 that are obviously logical, but their early training and thorough 

 knowledge of engineering facts and practice act as a constant 

 and useful check, with the result that they rarely make mistakes 

 of serious importance. 



It is not suggested that the exalted moods and "inspired 

 imaginings" of the poet or artist would be of material advantage 



