Answers Need Questions

Engineering design at some level is about understanding answers are not answers without questions. Engineers can find answers and solutions, because we have good questions. It is important to understand that engineering is fundamentally about having to ask new questions. It is about understanding that when you ask different questions you get different answers. It is about, in many cases, the question is the answer. It is recognizing that people have the habit of asking the wrong questions, of looking in the wrong places, and in the wrong way. It is about engineers understanding that how you asked and what you asked matter a lot.

Great problems have many distinguishing characteristics, but they start with a permanent record. You must write a problem down. The problem statement focuses your mind. Condense it to those few nouns and verbs that are essential to the problem. Use twenty-five words or less. Even the most difficult problems can be expressed in twenty-five words. After describing the problem, briefly record why it must be solved. Engineering problems with compelling needs get solved. If you don't need to solve it, it isn't really a problem.

Most problems suffer from a lack of attention. We don't give difficult problems enough attention to spark a solution. But our brains can work on problems around the clock, regardless of whatever else we might be doing. The mind just needs to know that we what a solution.