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Archives
Books by Celeste Baine
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Engineering Principles Teacher's Guide
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Engineering Graphics Teacher's Guide
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Aeronautical Engineering Teacher's Guide
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Civil Engineering Teacher's Guide
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Teaching Engineering Made Easy: A Friendly Introduction to Engineering Activities for Middle School Teachers
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The Musical Engineer: A Music Enthusiast's Guide to Engineering and Technology Careers
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The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker's Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering - Second Edition
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High Tech Hot Shots: Careers in Sports Engineering
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Is There an Engineer Inside You?: A Comprehensive Guide to Career Decisions in Engineering |
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Hollywood Problem Solvers
We had great responses to the Engineering is Problem Solving blog last week. I gave away five copies of my new book, Engineers Make a Difference, to the readers that gave me examples of other shows on TV that do engineering without calling it engineering.
Winner #1 picked my favorite - Batman. Eric Heiselt described, "whether it be movies, TV or cartoon. Batman is the ultimate engineer. He is the only 'superhero' without superpowers, he only uses his brain. He engineered every tool on his utility belt as well as his car and other vehicles."
Winner #2 chose my son's favorite engineering show - Ironman. Reed Brockman said, "If you haven't seen it, drop everything and watch it now."
Winner #3 chose the classic - McGyver. David Keathly said, "he was always having to solve problems and think on his feet to invent some gadget to get out of a bad situation."
Winner #4 chose my childhood favorite - Gilligan' Island. Mike Day said, "The best example is the professor on Gilligan's Island. He made everything, including a bike, out of bamboo and other items found on the island. One time he made a glue and they fixed the boat, but the glue did not hold."
Winner #5 was the most creative - The Food Network. Greg Goldbogen said, "The Food Network Challenge and Ace of Cakes. In each of these the chefs create the most amazing cakes which require some knowledge of structural engineering in order to ensure that the cakes, some of which are immense structures, do not collapse. This is especially important when they are transported."
I don't watch much TV but this week, I sat down a few times and was very surprised that just by thinking about engineering and examples in Hollywood, I saw things I must have missed earlier. On Chuck, his ex-girlfriend is a biomedical engineer that develops an antidote to a lethal gas. Crusoe is all things engineering. He built his tree house, uses simple machines for everything and constantly solves his own unique problems, and CSI shows use all sorts of gadgets to solve crimes.
If you haven't read the posts, take a few minutes to see what your colleagues are thinking. All of the examples are excellent and they will give you some great ideas for classroom projects!
If your students enjoy watching TV or going to the movies, have them write a paper identifying the engineers doing engineering work in what they saw.
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Posted by Celeste Baine on November 14, 2008
Talkback
From Norman Burtness - My favorite engineer is Wiley E. Coyote. He does have some difficulty with measuring, but he always uses an engineering approach to solve his problem.
Posted on November 14, 2008 at 8:05 am PST
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From David A. Pape, Ph.D. - I am a bit uneasy with some of these examples of ‚"engineering" on TV and in movies.
Although engineering is problem solving, it is much more. Lots of people solve problems - they are not all engineers. For me the key to engineering is prediction - using math and science to predict the performance of a constructed object. Engineering is not just trial and error, and it is more than creating gadgets. I think that there is a distinction between craftspeople (i.e. the cake builders) and engineers, and that we need to carefully think about what we call "engineering", or we run the risk of further diluting the "brand".
Posted on November 14, 2008 at 8:41 am PST
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From Mr. B - As a former electrical engineer (computer hardware) I tend to disagree with Dr. Pape. I see the first lights of engineering start with creating gadgets and dissecting their failure. The more understanding we get from each gaget helps develop our need for "prediction - using math and science to predict the performance of a constructed object". I have developed high speed, complex circuits based on the math and science data and still missed the mark. Once a board is built, reality shows it is not as predictable as we would like.
My favorite engineering movie for kids is "Meet the Robinson's". It shows engineering in all its glory and pitfalls. Things don't always work but just keep moving forward and you can get a workable solution.
I use the movie in my Middle School classes to show solutions are about having a full understanding of the problem; T-Rex was a solution to 'the problem' but a full understanding would have predicted the short arms as a limitation. We will all encounter many failures before success. When we acheive success how do we make it better? - by making it fail again!
Posted on November 14, 2008 at 10:52 am PST
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From Joe Poutre - I'm surprised the series Mythbusters didn't make the list. They always discuss both the engineering and science behind what they are doing, and make even more details available on the Discovery channel website.
Posted on November 17, 2008 at 6:43 am PST
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From Christopher Harrison - I would also like to tune in to McGyver for the ideas he came up with on the fly, but let's not forget about the "A-team". Those 80's retro shows may seem a little cheesy now.. but the were fun to watch
Posted on November 17, 2008 at 10:16 am PST
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From Ceal Craig - Coming into this discussion a bit late probably...Several programs in network TV provide solid role models for science and mathematics, a step forward, in my opinion. The CSI franchise, in particular, CSI (the original) and CSY-NY show women and men in nerdy roles and make it intersting and positive. I am pretty positive forensic curriculums have experienced an uptick as a result of those shows. My next and favorite show is NUMB3RS! Begun with the desire to show how math is used every day and how useful and fun it can be, this show has men and women in high-level math roles, with some relationship stuff and romance too; all normal parts of life. And worthy of honorable mention are the two women scientists/techies on NCIS and Criminal Minds. Abby and Garcia (respectively) are upbeat and intelligent female characters, certainly showing up as unique and different and valued.
All in all, better than Dilbert for me. Certainly Hollywood Problem Solvers!
Posted on December 15, 2008 at 1:24 pm PST
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