Hugh Pickens writes "Using computers to model the physical world has become increasingly common as products as diverse as cars and planes, pharmaceuticals and cellphones are almost entirely conceived, specified and designed on a computer screen and typically, only when these creations are nearly ready for mass manufacturing are prototypes made but G. Pascal Zachary has an interesting essay in the NY Times highlighting a little-noticed movement in the world of professional design and engineering: a renewed appreciation for manual labor, or innovating with the aid of human hands. "A lot of people get lost in the world of computer simulation," says Bill Burnett, executive director of the product design program at Stanford. "You can't simulate everything." Fifty years ago, tinkering with gadgets was routine for people drawn to engineering and invention and making refinements with your own hands — rather than automatically, as often happens with a computer — means "you have to be extremely self-critical," says Richard.Sennett, whose book "The Craftsman" examines the importance of skilled manual labor. Even in highly abstract fields, like the design of next-generation electronic circuits, some people believe that hands-on experiences can enhance creativity. "You need your hands to verify experimentally a technology that doesn't exist," says Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's photonics technology lab."
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