I’ve been having a good time re-discovering episodes of The Brady Bunch with my children. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid and I still love it today. A well-known scene came to mind after reading Andy Gibbons’ article “The Practice of Instructional Technology: Science and Technology.”
Gibbons states “Advanced students in technological areas, unless their professional area can supply a firm impression of the role and activities of the technologist, can come to think of themselves as ‘wannabee’ scientists.”
The apparent disconnect between technology and science is unnecessary, as Gibbons alludes. Both are invaluable for finding answers and solutions to life’s challenges. Their methods for arriving at decisions and conclusions may be different, but I don’t consider one a “higher” pursuit than the other. I’ve spent virtually my entire career around engineers, designers, and developers and know how painstakingly they work to find solutions.
I love participating in the design and development process. Sometimes it resembles this oft-cited comic:
Click to Enlarge, origin unknown
It’s not always like that, however. Often the engineer or technologist is the only one that knows that the customer needs a tire swing. They come up with 500 different ways to get there, analyzing each to see which is the very best solution. It’s their version of the laboratory and their way of discovering data and drawing conclusions. They may not be racing mice through mazes, but they are certainly hypothesizing and experimenting and failing a few (or many) times along the way before they can make advances.
I don’t see how you can have one without the other.
