On Mon, 22 Sep 2014 14:06:55 -0500, "Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"
lloydspinsidemindspring.com wrote:

Tim Wescott fired this volley in
m:

but a dirt-simple solution that actually works often evades me.

Fortunately, there are plenty of Really Complex problems out there just
crying out to be solved, and that I can do.


Dirt-simple solutions are the epitomy of engineering. It's hard to get
to that point.

I just spent two years of my life designing (and building) a prototype
machine for an explosives manufacturer. Some of the most difficult
aspects of its operation were solve by those dirt-simple mechanisms
invented in the 1920s and 1930s. Some others required complex mechanisms
I'm not totally pleased with, but must endure, because there seemed no
other way to accomplish them.

To be sure, it is a complex machine, full of potential failure points.
Mitigating them required "over-engineering" to make those points robust
enough to stand the duty. When complex overcomes simple, that's the
cost.

I'm not sure any complex machine (like a mechanical camera with 47
functions!) can be made simply.

Lloyd

That's what I used to tell the young guys in R&D. Don't invent
anything you don't have to.

Pete Keillor