The value of learning…then learning some more
Welcome to the 2023 edition of Design World’s special Power Transmission Guide.
Each year, the motion editors at Design World prepare four special issues devoted to motion control; one surveying the newest trends in the industry, one spotlighting unique motion applications, and two special issues covering the basics of motion systems more generally. Just as this Power Transmission Guide does here – covering the basics of power transmission by spotlighting basic components such as gears, actuators, motors and other mechanical components.
Why the focus on motion basics? For a number of reasons. First, covering the basics can serve as a good introduction for new engineers just entering the field. Such guides help in introducing basic principles as well as doing a deep dive on some finer grain details of how various components work.
Second of all, presenting the basics of motion can also help established engineers by serving as a refresher on some of the basics they may have forgotten. And let’s be honest; seeing as how humans excel at forgetting things, we can all use a refresher once in a while.
In fact, study after study shows the importance of repetition for learning, whether for tasks involving manual labor (training our so-called “muscle memory”) or learning basic knowledge like multiplication tables. And apparently the opposite holds true, encapsulated in the old cliché of “use it or lose it.”
We can see this play out in basic training and continued learning aimed at keeping one’s skills intact, with first responders such as EMTs and police officers and firefighters constantly practicing and training, learning new skills and techniques but also polishing and honing existing, necessary and crucial ones that are essential for doing their jobs.
Perhaps this is why we’ve invented all sorts of ways to remember and recall and stay sharp; crossword puzzles, sudoku, memory games, including the recent Wordle craze, as well as its geographic counterpart Worldle.
While some of these admittedly are meant to stave off overall cognitive decline by keeping cognitive function sharp, in the technical world such basics and tutorials and refreshers serve to keep one’s technical knowledge current. For licensed professional engineers, there are even requirements for ongoing continuing education. For example, here in the state of Ohio, licensed PEs are expected to complete 30 hours of continuing education credits during each two-year renewal period. This can include technical work as well as ethical and managerial work as well.
In this light, it’s no coincidence that one of the world’s greatest works of philosophy, The Analects of Confucius written more than 2,300 years ago, begins with a series of observations about what is good in human life, including this:
“To learn and at due times to repeat what one has learned, is this not after all a pleasure?”
Miles Budimir • Senior Editor
Filed Under: DIGITAL ISSUES • DESIGN WORLD