Perfectionist
Simon Winchester’s “The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World”
Introduction
Winchester writes about how the world is taking the route of precision whereby the desire for the precision has led to technological advancements over years. The author draws an example of the Applied Physics Lab at the John Hopkins and the Transits satellites who had military precision to make instruments that will get in some hundred feet so that it could establish the nuclear missiles. Later on, the Navy learned that their first instrument was no longer precise for the work, hence they had another precision to for a GPS. After getting a GPS for better location, they developed another precision that led to combination of both Physics and Mathematics to come up with better hard materials that could give predictable qualities. Winchester goes ahead to give his personal account on how precision experiences he went through since his childhood. He argues about how successive degrees of precision in technological advancement.
Summary
Winchester writes about how the world is taking the route of precision whereby the desire for the precision has led to technological advancements over years. The author draws an example of the Applied Physics Lab at the John Hopkins and the Transits satellites who had military precision to make instruments that will get in some hundred feet so that it could establish the nuclear missiles. Later on, the Navy learned that their first instrument was no longer precise for the work, hence they had another precision to for a GPS. After getting a GPS for better location, they developed another precision that led to combination of both Physics and Mathematics to come up with better hard materials that could give predictable qualities. Winchester goes ahead to give his personal account on how precision experiences he went through since his childhood. He argues about how successive degrees of precision in technological advancement.
Level of Precision
The book by Winchester is chronologically described to feature the successive process of precision in technological advancement. The first account is based on chapter one of the book where the author gives insight of the level of precision that took place. Throughout his work, it easy to establish the author’s understanding which he has experienced. The precision at the beginning of the book are based on the industrial attributes, which will later reach the digital level. These original levels of precisions are for steam engine, cameras, and smartphones.
Steam Engine to GPS
The author talks about how development of steam engine came into the minds of the military adventures. The army had a precision to get some hundred feet to help the Navy to locate missiles. In 1776, the degree of precision to make that particular steam engine was successful. It was championed by John Wilkinson, an Englishman. Notably, the steam engine was purely based on the Applied Physics in the inventor’s lab. The Navy later developed a precision of a GPS.
I believe that this precision needed more attention since the steam engines could not serve precisely. At those time where technology had had not taken the better of it, it was risk to operate in water with default fighting tools. Additionally, there was nobody who could thought of defending ocean boundaries using steamers. However, it is highly commendable that the inventor of the steam engine took the first step bring in an idea, which he later worked on it. There is no contentment of a level as far as the dynamicity of life is concerned. One venture would result to another venture since life is a series of new challenges that seek new solutions. I think that the Navy needed more precision to make a better marine military equipment for various reasons.
The Navy needed the next precision on various reasons such as efficiency. With the availability of steam engine, the marine force could get an efficient means to back up its operations. According to the author, the next precision was geared to “provide greater location precision for conventional bombs”. Henceforth, a second precision was necessary to improve the efficiency of the steam engine, going deep to venture a GPS instrument. The Navy also wanted to get a precise location of the nuclear bombs. Purposely, at the level of using a steamer, they had to think about making another instrument that will help them while at the steamer. The GPS materials was achieved by involving Mathematics in its calculations. There was the need to get a more tolerance equipment after using the steamers. Thus, the next precision led to technological advancement through making scientific devices that could detect gravitational waves. The war techniques had rapidly changed, and the military had to keep watch by making more precise instruments to counteract their enemies’ missiles.
Cameras
According to Winchester, the precision of having a camera came when scientists thought of making gadgets that can be used to observe things at a far distance. Photographers no longer wished to take deemed observations of objects and subjects through the ‘old’ cameras. These cameras were usually used by the military and science departments to explore the surrounding location. According to the author, the precision had reached them at Leica cameras that had prized lenses. Their precession had also landed them to the Hubble Telescope which had a well-ground mirror. The author describes the wrong shaped telescope as, “precisely impressive” (Winchester, 12), for there will be a better version of camera later on. It is not until longer time when their desire for precision became bigger.
I believe that there was a dire need to take a next precision in developing cameras. Some pathetic cameras could not be effective as far as professionalism is concerned. Notably, professionals are bound by the perfectionism, which will later be termed as unhealthy. I would imagine the situation of using poor cameras in recording vital objects such as missiles during an attack. Similarly, it feels absurd when one’s phone camera produces poor images when taking photos of personally important occasions such as at a hike. With the similar feeling, the scientists had to make possible means to improve their cameras by adding more complex pixels.
Scientists could not just sit down and watch the flaws in the type of cameras they had. War had influenced in the space exploration as scientists wanted to make better and precise tools of observation. Their precision resulted to creation of a more improved telescope, which is regarded as among the ‘perfect’ scientific instrument ever made. It was later called Shakespeare and Einstein. Henceforth, the scientists’ unsettled attitude towards the already created camera instruments was great. They needed more precise cameras to record ‘exact’ data.
Smartphones
The author describes about the original precision of smartphones. These gadgets are well-known to many people since they use them more often. Winchester sets the precision for smartphone by looking at its manufacturing basis. It should be noted that smartphones fall under the electronic category, but not under mechanical. Hence, its original assembling company have to think on how to make precise versions. I would like to imagine the kind of feeling in people when they received the first mobile gadgets, not mentioning about a smartphone. Concerning the smartphone, the original precision dictated that there is need to add more features in the gadget without tempering with its size. Winchester describes an encounter where Samsung had fixed everything in Galaxy Note 7 phone, which resulted to excessive heating of the phone, swelling of its battery, and sometimes it could burst into flames. This account leads to the problematic nature of precision.
Good or Bad
Precision has been a debateaful notion whether it is good or bad. Several scholars and scienmtists have discussed it ta length. However, each standing should be guided by strong points that can should persuade others to take that course of thinking. In the book, Simon Winchester have talked about the place of precision in the technological advancement. His stand is greatly at the proposing site due to some reasons. However, he still warns about the possible bad side of the issue at the end of his work. Lewis Mumford’s book and chapter “On the Necessity for Equipoise”, give the evidence of the issue. Nonetheless, the precision drive has been good but not always.
Precision drive has resulted to technological advancements. It is through the precision drive that several inventions and improvements of instruments were made. Today, such advancements are being done, thumps up for the precision drive among the scientists. Good tools are vital in making human life better since it solves one problem to another. For instance, the precision drive to make a steam engine led to creation of GPS, which is more effective in the human life. Mumford claims that the it is necessary to work on precision drive to yield more in technology.
Precision drive results to betterment of human life. The ultimate goal of technological advancement is to create more effective equipment that will help in human life. It is through precision drive that scientists go deeper and create materials that are designed to work on a particular problem. For instance, the steam engine created was later on prone to leakage, thus there was the need to make a more effective equipment. Dynamicity of life will call for different and new problems that will need different solutions through inventions. Therefore, human life has been made better by the successive precisions among the scientists.
Additionally, precision drive has led to other numerous inventions. For instance, it is until the Navy used the steamer when they realized that they wanted an effective material in determining the exact location of a bombs. That is when GPS came to operate. Therefore, successive precision drive leads to numerous technological inventions that are important for mankind. It is the diversity nature of things that keeps the precision drive relevant as far as technological improvements are concerned.
Changes required for a Sustainable Future
According to Simon Winchester, precision drive is importance as far as technological advancements are concerned. However, Winchester points out that there should be some things that should be taken care of to yield the maximum goals of technological advancements. He precisely talks about a sustainable future, which will be built depending on how the precision drive is handled. According to him, the future of human life will be at a greater position to prosper only if it takes some cautions.
Winchester argues that people should not be controlled by the cult of precision. In his last chapter, the author warns that “there is a cult of precision, a belief that incredible accuracy is inherently good, whereas good enough can often be acceptable and almost cheaper” (Winchester). In his book, the author has given personal experiences that involve technological improvements. It is wise to know that there is no moment of a perfect accuracy in technological improvements. Henceforth, scientists’ goal to change the future life is greatly determined by the mindsets of those who are involved in precisions.
Winchester has also called upon the change of destructive mindsets in precisions. For instance, the race for weapons resulted to fatal wars such as the Second World War. Everybody was interested in creating more dangerous weapon for military prestige and superiority. This attitude of in technological advancement should be altered. The author tips that there comes grave effects to the future if scientists will keep on cooking destructive precision drives. Therefore, for a sustainable future to be achieved, people should work on human-friendly precisions to quench their drives.
According to me, there are some several changes that need to be observed to create a sustainable future as far as technological precision is concerned. Humanity should be taken as a priority. Currently, some of the technological advancements we have are destroying agents of human life. For instance, dangerous weapons have been created in the name of creating secure territories. Several deaths have been recorded as a result of deadly weapons. If humanity affairs will not be considered in technological advancements, the future that we claim to be creating will be a vanity. Human life cannot be destroyed while saying it is being protected.
Conclusion
Precision is a key drive in the technological advancements. Simon Winchester has significantly explored the issue of following one precision drive to another. Despite precision drive being useful to human life, it can also be harmful to human existence. Therefore, the author warns about the cult of precision if the world wants a sustainable future. Nonetheless, technological advancements are important is human life as long as they are human friendly. I found the book worthy for read since it has great knowledge regarding technological advancements through precision drives that are geared towards unachievable perfectionism.