Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

There is an old diagram that helps explain what a system does. Sometimes, these old diagrams are lost and need to be found again. Apologies to Google and the Chromecast, but it is a good example to mention.

Me, i.e., old engineer: What is that?

Young Engineer: It is a Google Chromecast.

Me: What is that?

Young Engineer: It is a video streamer.

Me: What does it do?

Young Engineer: It streams video.

Me: I think you already told me that. Let’s try again. Perhaps you could draw a diagram of what it does.

Young Engineer: Why should I draw it. You’re holding it in your hand.

Me: I mean a system diagram.

Young Engineer: What is that?

Me: You draw a circle representing the system. In this case, the circle represents the Chromecast.

Young Engineer: But the Chromecast isn’t round.

Me: The circle represents the Chromecast. There is a difference between the thing and the representation of the thing, but let’s not digress. After you draw a circle, you draw lines coming in and out of the circle representing the inputs and outputs.

Young Engineer: blank stare

Me: The system is then able to transform the inputs to outputs and so on. Simple little diagram that explains the system. In this case the Chromecast.

Young Engineer: Where did you find that?

Me: Find what?

Young Engineer: That type of diagram.

Me: It is old. Really old. I think someone found it scribbled on the wall of a cave or something. Engineers used to draw them all the time with pencil on paper.

Young Engineer: What is that?

Me: What is what?

Young Engineer: Pencil and, and, what was the other part?

Me: blank stare