the world is entropic. complexity is complex. the only way through is to respect those facts, and to give a shit. (assorted thoughts on engineering in complex systems, mainly themed around maintenance and integrity of physical infrastructure) Contact me at entropic_eng@fastmail.com
Be warned, this is basically just a gushing review for one of my favourite books, Lying for Money (2019) with a little bit of essay sprinkled in. I'm not sorry. I'm now at my job for long enough that it no longer feels like a new job, and it has become simply "job". Mainly for that reason, it sometimes no longer feels like something I've voluntarily chosen to do, aligning with my personal goals,…
My New Job Put Me On a Boat Since the last time I posted, I started at a new job. Within a week I was out walking on an actual job site, shadowing someone who'd been doing this for much longer. By week 2 I got on a tiny boat to look at piles (giant steel legs holding up piers, which are found on all kinds of marine structures - berths, bridges, etc). This is kind of a massive whiplash from my…
In part one in this series, we covered the implications of ever-increasing entropy - we use up available energy to generate Work, and dissipate heat as Waste - which means there are no free lunches in the universe we live in. However people like to believe that they are, because they're attracted to narratives promising easy things. In part two , we discussed narratives in more detail. Narratives…
This post is part 2 of a series. Read the previous part here. Songs My Manager Taught Me Last time, we discussed entropy and looked at PlayPumps, a charitable initiative that failed due to its backers believing in an unrealistic narrative and lacking a real understanding of the world. In this part, we'll talk more about narratives in action. It might seem like I am extremely opposed to the use of…
This was a post that got kind of out of hand, so now it's a series. Here's Part 1 of 3 Intro to Thermodynamics These days, I'm noticing that many people - adult people with serious jobs who make important decisions controlling unthinkably vast sums of money, affecting nearly everyone in society, do not understand physics. I'm not referring to the formalised version of physics taught in classrooms,…
This post was greatly improved by feedback from a friend of mine, who wishes to remain anonymous. Not Just Something To Complain About at After Work Drinks Most large organisations are morasses of lies, and slick corporate headquarters is where they take Truth, after shoving her blindfolded into an unmarked van, to be executed by firing squad. This really shouldn't be news to anyone who's been…