One Of My Most Memorable Customers,

[seapower]

A couple years back I had a transient customer that had an engine that wouldn't start. It was a problem in a start relay. I told him considering where you are and it's Friday, you're gonna be here till the middle of next week waiting on part's. Well he (like 90% of our transients) was in a rush and "had" to get to Florida by such and such a date. Is there anything I could do? Well I made an auxilary start system with momentary switches done in the engine room. It worked perfectly and he could continue on his way.

I called him down below and showed him his "new" starting system. He looked at me in utter amazement. Trying to be humble I said, "Cap it ain't rocket science". (His response I'll never forget). He said, "son, that's just the problem. I AM a rocket scientist and I would have never thought of that".

I guess what I took away from our encounter is this. He obviously had alot more education than I had, was more than likely alot smarter than I will ever be. He just didn't see the problem the same way I did. No matter what our background or education level, it takes all of us to make this "thing" work. Frank

[clt_capt]

Duct Tape and Bailing wire go a long way - We used to make do and figure out how to get by with just what we have on hand -

This is one of the reasons we used to be the country of innovation - and we are losing a lot of that...

[jaws]

Frank, smart people tend to over analyze.

[gottaflylee]

Very well said Frank

[Jer]

Nice story!

[Greeneyed Pickle]

This is one of the reasons we used to be the country of innovation - and we are losing a lot of that...

There it is. I see it in my students all the time these days, terrible problem solving skills. I sure as hell am doing my best to make sure my girls don't have the same issue.

Good stuff, Frankie. Sometime people just know too much for their own good! I've seen it in the field when a doctor doesn't have all those fancy tools like in the ER, has next to no clue what to do.

Tim

[longfisher]

There it is. I see it in my students all the time these days, terrible problem solving skills. I sure as hell am doing my best to make sure my girls don't have the same issue.

Good stuff, Frankie. Sometime people just know too much for their own good! I've seen it in the field when a doctor doesn't have all those fancy tools like in the ER, has next to no clue what to do.

Tim

My kid's a wiz...book wise. Can't seem to understand how a cam shaft or anything mechanical works, though. So, he can't problem solve worth a crap.

He wants to be an engineer. OK, Dude. How you gonna do that without any mechanical aptitude whatsoever.

I have to browbeat him to work on his car. When I was young my Dad had to physically beat me not to.

One day I got exasperated with him yawning in the background when I took over a particularly delicate part of a repair on his car. And, I asked him just what the heck he was going to build in the future as an engineer as he'd never built anything in the past, or, even repaired anything.

The fundamental truth of that statement and its overall applicability to the kids today made me pause. I don't know about your kids, guys, but none of those in this affluent neighborhood have ever built a darned thing...not a treehouse, not a fort, not a slingshot to heave dirt clods over the bayou in "wars" against the other gang of kids who live there, not a barricade to prevent someone heaving dirt clods over the bayou from crashing down on your head. Absolutely nothing. They build nothing.

What they're good at is sitting around all day with a joystick in their hand and a computer in front of them. And, they don't write computer code either.

One day I got so exasperated with my son watching so much computer games that I took his play station, atari or whatever the hell it was out on the driveway when all his friends were over and smashed it to bits with a three-pound hand sledgehammer. They were all so shocked. They just didn't get why anyone would take offense to that laggard behavior as it was so common among them.

I shiver to think what sort of engineer he's going to be. So, one day at great volume I gave him "permission" to change his major if he found engineering wasn't his favorite thing in the world.

I think we're raising a whole new crop of book learners and non-doers with this generation. It's gonna be worse than before.

By the way, Frank. You seem a good sort. I'm sure you're a great marine mechanic. And, I sense you enjoy that work. Bully for you. I admire you.

But, honestly, Frank, you do seem to have either a complex about not having an education or you are anti-intellectual. Like you said in an earlier post this week, you've not excuses to make for who you are. I agree. So, don't let anti-intellectualism creep into what you write so much.

LF

[seapower]

It just get's old with the "educated" thinking they are smarter than me. Far, far from the truth. I work on mainly "educated" people's boats, nothing against them glad they can afford the boats I work on. It just never ceases to amaze me how "uneducated" it comes to things I consider just plain old common sense.

LongFisher, the point of this post was that this man was memorable. The reason for that is, he was "man enough" to admit he didn't know it all. He was a really nice guy from what I can remember, only saw him once. Just pushing his hand out for a "shake" and acknowledging he wasn't above me with his obvious education, is what makes him stand out. Seem's everybody's gotta be better than the next guy, in computerland.

I don't know how to use spell check, really don't want too. I don't mind others seeing my weaknesses, I'm really pretty secure with who I am. Spelling error's and all, I'm still no one's fool. My kids weren't raised in an affluant neighborhood, they all know how to fish, hunt, clean what they catch, work on stuff when it's broken, build stuff, don't swear, don't do drugs, are polite to their elder's, etc..... Guess what I'm sayin is that a "formal education" doesn't necessarily make you "smarter" than the next guy. Just figured I'd pass this moment in "SeaPower's" life along for those that care to read it. Frank

[Avenger]

First off... spelling is nothing more than visual memory. It's not a sign of intelligence. My wife the school teacher will tell you that. Yes, she has a college degree. My old man couldn't spell for his life. He may have even been an undiagnosed dyslexic. Yet he helped put men on the moon, designing environmental tests on the Lunar Module.

Despite the phrase "Don't let school interfere with your education", I've met plenty of intelligent people and plenty of dolts, both types with and without college degrees. The smart people know that nobody has a lock on intelligence and that many people can be brilliant in their own area and not so much in others. It doesn't make any sense to get defensive about either side.

Last, and it always pains me to admit when longfisher is right but unfortunately he's right just often enough to make me think there's hope for him, we've been raising many generations of un-creative people with piss-poor problem-solving skills for a long time now. It's nothing new. Between the failing education system, the mainstream media, and what may be the biggest culprit of all... television.... we've created a world where nobody has to think for themselves and thus they choose not to. I'm constantly quizzing my kid "Why do you think that works that way?" just like my old man did to me, in the hope that he'll learn to actually look at things and put the pieces together in his head.

I'll let you know how that works out.

[seapower]

I agree with most of what you said. I believe the old saying goes something like, "necesity being the, something, something of invention". We have made everything entirely too easy. We haven't made "thing's" better, we've been focused on easy. Our kid's (for the most part) are handed everything, so why get a "summer job"? By making it easy, we have stolen the chance for them to learn how to "make it work".

The reason for the post was to point out the "humble" nature of a man that built rocket ships. Everyone does have his "place" in this world. I just think it's cool when other's realize it. Oh, Geez I won't be able to sleep tonight, I just found out I got a "complex"! Next thing ya know, I'll have "issue's". I knew this computer thing was gonna be trouble! Frank