Danielle George MBE is a Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering at the University of Manchester. She delivered this year’s Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Appleton Lecture, “Smart Machines and Data: From ALMA to Zetabytes”, on 19th January 2017.
We have lost something in the current education system – what we call the ‘art of tinkering’.
I don’t fully understand why this is the case, but it is at least partly to do with a lack of confidence from parents and teachers, a perception that science and maths is hard, and a fear of failure.
In schools – and we are seeking a knock-on effect in the make-up of university applicants – there is no incentive to just be curious for the sake of being curious and experiment. The ‘hey, how does that work?’ mentality is missing.
There is no room in the curriculum for it, and we need to instil this at primary school, even at nursery level, and allow children to be curious with their teachers, parents and grandparents.
It is also because we take many of the machines that run our lives so efficiently for granted. People used to tinker with cars a lot more than they do now, as we tend now to take them to a garage. But going back only a few years most people knew how to change oil and tyres.
However, this mentality in young people – a mentality not helped in any way, shape or form by our current education system – must change.
Here is an example of why change is needed. I am UK lead on the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA). When completed, ALMA will provide unprecedented insight into star formation during the early universe and provide the most detailed maps of star and planet formation.
I am also involved in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), whose size will make it 50 times more sensitive than any other radio instrument currently in existence. The dishes alone will generate ten times the current global Internet traffic.
These developments provide huge challenges, such as collecting the data in the first place, of course. And then when we have all the data, where do we store it? But these are going to be questions for our children and grandchildren.
We therefore need to show that it isn’t such a big step between having fun in your bedroom, garage, or garden shed, and solving the ‘grand challenges’ that exist in the world today. And we need the next generation to solve these challenges through engineering.
From nursery, I was always questioning things. My parents never said, ‘Oh, I don’t know’. If they didn’t know – and a lot of times they didn’t – then they would buy me a book or talk to the teacher and say, ‘Danielle has been asking about this – where could we find some information about it?’. That encouragement was key. As educators we must provide this encouragement to young people, curriculum permitting or not.
This is the perfect time to take a step back and ask ourselves what we are really doing to inspire curiosity. The current generation is growing up with technology, skilled with a mobile phone from the age of two. We have coding in schools, and in higher education, low-cost electronics enable us to support a desire to take them apart and find new uses for them.
We need to make sure – as parents, teachers and the public – that we don’t segregate children. For example, in a playgroup where you have Lego in one corner, and all the boys go there, and dolls in the other corner, and all the girls go there. If that is their preference, fine, but we shouldn’t influence them; we should encourage them to play with whatever they like.
We also have an obligation to encourage greater social status for engineers. In Germany, if you are an engineer you are very well respected as a professional in the same way as a lawyer or a medical doctor is. In the UK, this is not the case.
The ‘maker movement’ shows that creativity, playfulness and ingenuity can fuel STEM learning, and many countries take this to the next level to bridge the gap between extra-curricular and the education system. The Tinkering School in the USA is a good example. They give children real tools to solve real problems. By learning through doing, we strive to make mistakes and learn from them.
The statement “curious for the sake of curious” sums it up. It is perceived in that short term “have it now” mind set as being unworthy. Push at the open door they say, not the closed door, it is easier. Taking only the easy route/safe option does us no favours as we lose the ability to expand. Tinkering in the garage/shed/workshop/garden/school must be encouraged. Only by making and breaking do we see the limitations and the way to improve and move beyond them.
I know there are manyfold, but I don’t suppose that would be the same Andy Bevis from Milton / Southern Grammer / Pall Europe ? ? ?
I am, fortunately from the “curious era”, it has never left me and remains as strong now as all those years ago. The more we can support Danielle George’s approach the better we all will be. The trouble will be persuading all those so called experts (aka MPs) that they al not always right.
Tinkering and being curious about how things work is at the heart of science and engineering, Without it, it’s ‘someone else’s problem’ . Like Ken, I am from the ‘curious era’ presumably the 60’s. We have however lost a lot of opportunity due to the electronic age. Analogue things were much easier to figure out. Things like clocks, instruments etc. had levers, springs and gears, now they just have a display. Even a pushbike has cartridge bearings ‘ for life’ and they don’t need adjusting. Cars can’t be serviced at home because all components are connected electronically.
You can’t see anything happening now, only the outcome; coupled with gaming, the immediate result is expected, not incremental improvement and adjustment.
Unfortunately , the ‘safe’ society has an impact where hazards are inflated to High Risks and therefore rendered inaccessible.
Devices such as Raspberry Pi are a real benefit, but only if their use is guided and led beyond the instruction book. All of us with experience have a duty to pass the baton and I am with Danielle.
I suspect Danielle was fortunate to have a school that encouraged “tinkering”. In my day (before Danielle’s) tinkering was learned at home where most things were repaired and bits left over were left to be explored. If we were lucky there was Meccano also. Meccano and other creative and self learn kits are still here and arguably better than in my day. What seems to be missing is “time”! I’m also a Cub Scout leader and these days we hurry kids from one organised activity to the next. Society expects this level of organisation. This Leaves little time for kids to self explore, to get in and out of trouble, to learn to take risks and learn to create.
Meccano any better today than in the old days??? -NAH! The problem with Meccano is that they have fallen to the dumb greedy practice initiated by LEGO years ago: to sell “kits” for only one (or just a few) models.
Back in 1963, my dear father made the large effort ($$$) to buy me a large No. 6 Meccano set (when the largest was the extremely expensive Number-8), and later another No. 7 set. Those old sets were painted green (for the metal strips) and red (for the sheet parts), had brass screws ans nuts, and came with a lot of pieces, enough to build about 50 models shown in the huge “instructions book”… The MOST important thing in the book, was that the “plans” were often a single large EXPLODED VIEW, that seemed impresively complicated at first, but pressed us on to keep trying and finally UNDERSTAND the whole design! But after building several of the models shown, one HAD TO start to build our own “designs”, as the instruction book gave PLENTY ideas for simple (and not so simple) mechanisms and details, teaching preciuous lessons to the child! The ability to tighten or untighten screws from above and behind in the intended turning direction is fundamental in order to acquire manual dexterity at an early age, which will be invaluable later when attempting to disassemble thing like radios, toys and even full size cars!. Overall, Meccano was fundamental in my formation as an engineer that has NO fear when facing complicated machinery, making me much more complete than many colleagues that had less attentive parents and became “desk only engineers”. P.D.: I still keep most of parts form my old Meccanos, waiting for my little son (age 7) to learn to use and care for them!
Something the UK has been failing to suitably address consistently for many years. If only “tinkering” had the same appeal as being a celebrity or sports personality – we’d lead the world (possibly)! I’m an engineer and proud to be so, but I didn’t just find a badge in a Kinder Egg with this on, it’s a state of mind. I discovered my interest at a young age, by dismantling and then reassembling my parents Roberts Radio, Rediffusion TV, my brothers Ford Capri and various other items, all with consent, of course ;-). But that’s what can happen when your parents buy you a tool set and endorse your desire to discover!
You see, the problem is, in my day Meccano (and Lego) was just a big box of bits and everyone had to use their imagination to come up with something. These days so many of those Meccano and Lego kits are designed to make one particular model…. maybe good training for your first Ikea wardrobe but it is just building something that has already been designed. That’s where we’re all going wrong… throw away the instructions and come up with something new ! 🙂
I see where you are coming from, but my lads always made the model from the plans (once), then set about ‘improving’ and adapting the model. (I still have a large box of ‘plans’, but I can’t recall anyone every asking for them.) All the parts ended up in a large plastic crate, from which new inventions were assembled. Both boys went on to jobs where these skills have proved useful.
My grandson is now starting with his own Lego (and enjoying the crates of the stuff at our house).
Danielle, thank you for this great article. You might also be interested in what Gever Tulley and I are doing to make it easy for any teacher or parent to bring high-impact open-ended tinkering to all children everywhere. Check out tinkeringlabs.com and let me know if you have questions!
Making and designing things needs encouragement, learning by doing is hard to beat and learning from your own mistakes where it does not matter too much helps. STEM groups in schools help, recommending activities and books may just fire enough imagination. Searching Amazon finds a few: “Make: Planes, Gliders and Paper Rockets” by Rick Schertle could be a start. Or for something more adventurous “Garage Life” by Rob Selby shows where tinkering in a shed can lead.
Well done Danielle George. I am very pleased that Danielle George is in a position to voice a long held suspicion of mine that curiosity has been destroyed by those who perceive tinkering as ‘not cool’ or dangerous or ‘I have better things to do on my mobile communication device’. I am of the fortunate ones who had and still have a chemistry set, Meccano and a workshop (garage) that I can experiment and manufacture all manner of useful bits. Whilst at primary school I took the Sturmey-Archer gear box from my father’s bike to bits. He needed the bike for work and I learned a valuable lesson on ‘meeting time scales’. Any ideas to bring tinkering back should be published/ promoted. Perhaps the BBC might use the license payer fees to promote DIY/FIYs/tinkering
As a simple Mechanical engineer I have a trouble understanding Danielle George MBE (MBE ?) statement …”Square Kilometre Array (SKA), whose size will make it 50 times more sensitive than any other radio instrument currently in existence. The dishes alone will generate ten times the current global Internet traffic” I can’t see any connection between star gazing and global internet traffc , I can guess but ….. As for having fun in your bedroom, garage, or garden shed, the mind boggles .
Finally Tinkering is something I have always done, from bicycles to valve radios and vintage and classic vehicles – unfortunately vehicles have been ‘improved’ so far now that it is difficult to do anything but the most basic plugs and oil change.’ But the main part of the Tinkering is , Can I fix it ? or more importantly Can I make it better than it was ?
Well, if you find modern automobiles too difficult to tinker with… You are not trying hard enough! While it is true they have (ab)used the use of electronics, and installed huge covers above the engine, there is still a possibility to fix (and even improve) the present day car. I’ll give you an example: Here in Mexico City, the extremely dumb City Major and the even more stoopid Environment Secretary, have been imposing too tight measures, trying to impede the use of private automobiles through prohibiting them to circulate one or two days a week, and making the emissions inspection a nightmare. One thing I have discovered, is that the so called “PCV” or Crankcase Ventilation factory designs (that are really too simple), are causing emissions to rise. The addition of a simple but clever “Catch-Can” in the circuit significantly helps to reduce engine fouling and rised emissions. But a true upgrade is when you add cooling to fully condense the oil vapors going to the inlet manifold (and fouling it, along with valves, combustion chambers, spark plugs and Catalytic converter)… So, put your Mechanical Engineering talent to work! TINKER!
Part of the problem behind the loss of curiosity is that the nature of technology has changed.
10, 20 years ago, any piece of household technology from a fridge to a radio could be taken apart, and you could see all the discreet components.
Today, (if you can even get at the inside to begin with) every component is integrated and indistinguishable from anything else. This makes it very hard to develop a sense of curiosity.
I’m reminded of that old quote “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” I believe that modern electronics has already crossed that point for the average layperson.
In my day as a boy just after “the war” tinkering amounted to building the odd Meccano thing from bits accumulated/begged/borrowed etc when there were not many material objects at hand. However our leisure included going fishing with rudimentary kit, tree climbing (because it was there”, watching steam trains, which included a precious bicycle to get around. The latter often meant tinkering to keep the wheels turning. Even fixing the clip on the chain required a little finesse !
Whilst tinkering per se is rare these days, there is a wealth of information on the net – very knowledgeable people (usually*) with how to debug a pcb, how to put new bearings in a VW, how to tune a speaker room – these are available for zilch free gratis etc, and much better than undirected play.
Children of any age can learn so much from these, typically hosted on youtube.
I would say kids are better served with ‘fodder for the brain’ these days, than in the past. Need to be encouraged to use them / shown how to, tho.
My first ‘tinkering’ was a ‘stereo’ crystal set, could bring in stations hundreds of miles away – early 60’s –
“The dishes alone will generate ten times the current global Internet traffic”
Ok, perhaps, ‘the dishes alone will generate information at ten times the rate of current global internet traffic’
Ok?
I think one of the problems is that we live in a ‘risk adverse’ society, and the thinking ‘don’t do that, you might hurt yourself’ has become the overriding concern. Parents are afraid to allow their children to get involved in things that might cause mild harm; probably because they don’t understand the ‘risks’ themselves, or because they are concerned that the nanny state will prosecute them for child abuse!
I believe this explains the demand in ‘extreme sports’ – life has become too tame and safe.
You need to fall out of a few trees sometimes to hone the tree scaling skills. Yes it hurts, but that’s a life lesson you don’t forget. You bang your thumb with a hammer – you make a point of keeping your thumb out of the way in future. Surely it’s better to guide children to do these things, rather then allow them to find out the hard way; but don’t stop them ‘just in case’ they hurt themselves. (The best advice I ever had was ‘never attempt to catch a falling soldering iron’.)
Frankly, I don’t have time for tinkering. I hardly get time for thinking about a problem. My boss my customer wants results now.
To Danielle George (writer of the article): From the number of positive comments on your article, you can feel how much we engineers agree with your concepts. Congratulations for your writing, you made me remember my own days as a child tinkering with many things (althoug I have to admit I ruined some of them!). Perhaps you should keep writing on this subject as much as possible, because you could be inspiring a lot of parents to motivate their children to tinker and learn. As you have said, we must provide this encouragement to young people, curriculum permitting or not! Congratulations and a big hug from Mexico. Amclaussen.
The tinkeratti shall inherit the earth.
She’s right. I wrote a series of posts about this myself a while back: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/analysis-knack-sean-moran