Mechanical 'Ability '

[Nordic Norm]

We use the phrase 'mechanical ability '. I've given this alot of contemplation. Ability seems to indicate more then just knowledge, or something anyone can learn. Similar to an ability to play music, or sing. Not everyone is born with equal abilities. My dear friend is a brilliant chef, a culinary artist, an ability to appreciate preparing food. For the life of him, he cannot fathom anything mechanical. He tries, but it is hopeless. The worm turns when I look in my mirror. I have the ability to burn a pan boiling water! I'm hopeless.
I sympathize with anyone confounded with these little mechanical marvels.
Keep a stiff upper lip!
Cheers

 

[Rob_in_NC]

More to contemplate then... which is more valuable, a mechanical 'mind' or mechanical 'ability'. Or are they the same. Some folks can more easily visualize the inner workings of a machine and can analyze components to see how to make it more efficient or to repair is. Others may lack the mindset to see these things, but have the ability if given steps to perform the work.

I suppose the good thing is these type things CAN be taught, whereas artistry cannot. That's where I make the distinction. One can learn the skills to copy art, sure.. but that ability to come up with their own art, maybe not so much.

The same could be said for our guns. Someone with a mechanical mind can tear into one and more easily see how to improve upon it, others can learn what makes it tick and learn the steps to improve upon it... and yet others can make a gun of their own design and flair with the improvements already built in.

Morning rambling. I'm sure it would be much more interesting and deep conversation on a river bank with some rods in the water and a glass full of some good bourbon!

 

[Hateful McNasty]

Ya, ive been known to f-up a steel brick with a rubber mallet in my time .

 

[survivor45]

The worst are engineers (mechanical) that think they can design something. But they cannot make that thing. So they hand it off to the machinists and mechanics. Who tell the engineer that the idea will not work. But the machinists/mechanics have to make it anyway. And then prove that that idea will not work.
Sorry to all the engineers on here.

 

[Nordic Norm]

More to contemplate then... which is more valuable, a mechanical 'mind' or mechanical 'ability'. Or are they the same. Some folks can more easily visualize the inner workings of a machine and can analyze components to see how to make it more efficient or to repair is. Others may lack the mindset to see these things, but have the ability if given steps to perform the work.

I suppose the good thing is these type things CAN be taught, whereas artistry cannot. That's where I make the distinction. One can learn the skills to copy art, sure.. but that ability to come up with their own art, maybe not so much.

The same could be said for our guns. Someone with a mechanical mind can tear into one and more easily see how to improve upon it, others can learn what makes it tick and learn the steps to improve upon it... and yet others can make a gun of their own design and flair with the improvements already built in.

Morning rambling. I'm sure it would be much more interesting and deep conversation on a river bank with some rods in the water and a glass full of some good bourbon!

Clear in the morning. Brown in the afternoon.

 

[Hateful McNasty]

The worst are engineers (mechanical) that think they can design something. But they cannot make that thing. So they hand it off to the machinists and mechanics. Who tell the engineer that the idea will not work. But the machinists/mechanics have to make it anyway. And then prove that that idea will not work.
Sorry to all the engineers on here.

Today its if the computer says its good make and sell it . No need for human involvement.

 

[Nordic Norm]

Today its if the computer says its good make and sell it . No need for human involvement.

Humans can be troublesome

 

[Rob_in_NC]

Clear in the morning. Brown in the afternoon.

I'll try to remember that!

 

[Richely]

To steer back to what I take as OP’s sentiment, each of our brains work a little differently. If we allow for that we complement each other to our mutual benefit.

I love music, even can mechanically bang out the right notes mostly at the right time. Nonetheless I cannot make music because my brain doesn’t retain the sounds. Have to have inside to express it. Bless those that do, makes my day better

I chafe at routine, at repetitive tasks. God bless the person that can sit all day on an assembly line endlessly putting a screw in a hole, rinse and repeat until the shift is done. Would be up the creek without them.

And so on . . .

 

[survivor45]

^^^ This ^^^^
“each of our brains work a little differently. If we allow for that we complement each other to our mutual benefit.”

At a certain point we have to put our egos aside and understand our own strengths and weaknesses. Only then can we successfully and efficiently problem solve.

 

[Eric H.]

If you have mechanical aptitude, you will likely have mechanical abilities because your aptitude will drive your curiosities into dismantling and or fixing anything you can get your hands on like me. I was taking things apart to figure out how they work before I could put them back together and I got spanked for that more than once. The fixing part didn't take long to follow. But always exploring my curiosities gave me the mind set to figure out most things for myself including cooking, computers, plumbing or whatever.

 

[dgeesaman]

More to contemplate then... which is more valuable, a mechanical 'mind' or mechanical 'ability'. Or are they the same. Some folks can more easily visualize the inner workings of a machine and can analyze components to see how to make it more efficient or to repair is. Others may lack the mindset to see these things, but have the ability if given steps to perform the work.

I suppose the good thing is these type things CAN be taught, whereas artistry cannot. That's where I make the distinction. One can learn the skills to copy art, sure.. but that ability to come up with their own art, maybe not so much.

I think mechanical ability affects how quickly we learn a thing.

A person who is expecting to do too much too fast could be fooled into believing they lack the ability. They probably just need to learn different things at a different pace.

And how quickly you learn is also heavily affected by your relevant experience. Bearings, seals, screws, cotter pins, etc how they work and how to work with them. For someone brand new they are learning this stuff for the first time but an experienced farmer or home mechanic will breeze right through and know when to pause and seek help before the next step goes poorly.

 

[MikeVV]

The worst are engineers (mechanical) that think they can design something. But they cannot make that thing. So they hand it off to the machinists and mechanics. Who tell the engineer that the idea will not work. But the machinists/mechanics have to make it anyway. And then prove that that idea will not work.
Sorry to all the engineers on here.

No "sorry" needed !
But you apparently have a limited knowledge/experience of very many Mechanical Engineers.

I do / have known...of a few that you speak about. I also know of many more that CAN, and HAVE designed things from a blank piece of paper / CRT screen / LED screen, that...worked, without...the help of others !

I actually have a VERY good story of a "degreed" Mechanical Engineer, who is very much the person that you speak about though !
And yeah...the Tooling Machinist warned him..."this isn't going to work", the Engineer insisted, the Tooling Machinist, said..."OK, I'll do as the drawing says"...
It didn't work ! We all, (most of us) had a good snicker about it.

Mike

 

[JimD]

My degree was in Mechanical Engineering. Only people who do well in math and science courses get degrees in Engineering. Math credits start with Calculus and the science classes which "count" for us were upper level courses for those studying sciences. I worked with engineers for 40 years. Some of them could not change the oil in a car. Had no interest in it. It wasn't that they couldn't learn, they didn't want to learn. One of the things that a mechanical engineer at least used to have to do is visualize real parts from a drawing. With computers doing so much now I don't know if that is still as important but I suspect it is. In drafting class we would get two views of an object and be asked to draw the third view. I was good at that and it was the only reason I got a "B" in that class. I am terribly non-artistic with a pencil. But sometimes engineers picture of the part in their mind does not make it to the paper or computer correctly.

It was necessary for me to take my airguns apart to see how they worked and what needed tweaked IMHO. I keep notes on each squirrel I take about it's weight, the distance, where I hit it, if it ran... The need for data to make decisions and predictions about future actions is also not unusual for engineers.

To me some of us find certain activities easier than others may find them. But whether we can do them, and do them well, also has a lot to do with how badly we want to do that activity. I have had to learn to cook since my wife's death but it is never going to be one of my favorite activities, for instance. I won't ever be great at it because I don't really want to do it well.

 

[boscoebrea]

Ability is a mindset, seeing beyond your thought process and getting the "job" done is an accomplishment.
Engineers, oh my, I have known many, serious on the job,most fun off the job.
Thought, if you have to do it, learn to do it well=mindset.I hate folding clothes,,but not about to wear wrinkly clothes, have enough on my face.

 

[Ca_Varminter]

Being an Engineer...Electronic....
We go through all the basics of engineering ...
Being a decent engineer, this makes you a good analyst of all aspects of system interactions..
Be it mechanical, thermo, or even electrical/electronic..
That being said... there different levels of knowledge...Designing, building, and implementing!
Also there the Ones that can "Do It" and those that "Teach It"
But the Best professors I had, were the ones that were practicing engineers that came back to teach!!

Also being an Engineer.....You also taught to observe, and be critical...
Any System, Electronic or mechanical. You look for the weak points!
Areas that is Interferes with the operation of the System..
Then your mindset... Can it be improved upon....Will it involve a MInor or Major alterations!!!!

 

[Bigragu]

Having taught apprenticeship for years to the sheet metal workers local Union apprentices, one of the things I have found is the importance of teaching the ability to think in steps involved. Too many times one grabs tools and has a go at things, only to have to back pedal along the entire way, causing not only time wasted but possible damage and do overs.

A good mechanic with mechanical aptitude will first go thru all steps in his head, countering each step with “what could go wrong if I first don’t do this” and then once that is figured, moves on to the next step.

We use to teach service technicians for their first two years of apprenticeship hand layout of sheet metal fittings. Everytime they would complain and ask why they needed to learn sheet metal layout when their career is mainly electrical troubleshooting. I told them because hand layout teaches you the basics of approaching a task in a series of steps, methodically.

I’m quick to spot someone who lacks mechanical aptitude by the way they operate, like each time leaving to grab a tool, lacking having all supplies needed for the task, and having to constantly dismantle parts because steps were missed. Excuses stacked upon excuses to make up for poor performance.
That tells me either they’re “winging” it, or they just haven’t given it much thought. When you ask them what their plan is it’s typically a “well, uh, I guess I’m gonna do this” vs the guy that’s went over everything in his head long before the task came about and already has “the plan” itemized out in steps.

Lastly- tools. A mechanic is only as good as his tools. Use poor quality or the wrong makeshift tool for the job and that slows you down and causes you to take short cuts. The guy that preaches the use of the BFH or grabs a vice grip instead of the correct spanner wrench, well, they don’t impress me one bit.

Oh wait! One more important thing! What about pride? Pride knowing you did it right, in good time, THE FIRST TIME, with the least of mistakes, and turning in a product worthy enough to hang on a wall, or even sell? That’s what I’m talking about

 

[Motorhead]

IMO one of the greatest prizes / reward ... Is over time having worked with many mechanical ( We'll call em puzzles ) if one has the analytical traits as well can take random parts / pieces / ideas from those puzzles and make New puzzles that work and function as they should.

There are MANY engineers or those who perform engineering tasks that did not have formal training / schooling in how to do so.
These type folks are a lot of fun to work with due to there non mainstream out of the box thinking.

 

[Camaro454]

^^^ This ^^^^
“each of our brains work a little differently. If we allow for that we complement each other to our mutual benefit.”

At a certain point we have to put our egos aside and understand our own strengths and weaknesses. Only then can we successfully and efficiently problem solve.

Yep. A Man's gotta know his limitations..Clint Eastwood

 

[beerthief]

"Back in the day " i was camping and the car would not start . would turn over but not start . Two Design engineers talked to 30 minutes about what to do .
A 16 year old kid listened for a few seconds and ask his mom for a nail file , cleaned the points and i drove home .