Our craft needs elegance

摘要

Admittedly the coxswain didn't have the best position. In order to see clearly where he was going he needed to stick his head through the hatch. But with his head through the hatch he had to operate the controls by touch and feel. On the plus side, the twin engines gave the boat easy manoeuvrability. As we approached the dock there was a lot of tweeking of the engines. Ahead on the port, reverse on the starboard. A burst forward on the starboard. Correction with the port. Both astern to arrest the forward motion. Too much! A bit more ahead on the port. Eventually, after much to-ing and fro-ing with the engines, the coxswain nudged the boat gently against the mooring. There was a different coxswain on the return journey. As we approached the landing stage he assessed the wind and the current, made some slight adjustments to the speed and direction and then swung the boat in an arc to smoothly position it alongside. Two different approaches giving the same end-result. So why should I even notice the difference? The first coxswain was able to achieve the end-result because of the manoeuvrability of the boat, delivered by technology, combined with sheer effort and persistence. The second, well, he achieved the objective through the elegant application of his boat handling skills. What picture does the word 'elegant' bring to your mind? I expect it is nothing to do with work! That's because elegance has been flattened by the mantra that has been around for many years now: 'FIT FOR PURPOSE'. Fit for purpose allows the end to justify the means. It doesn't matter how we get there, as long as we get there but no further! Expensive skill can be replaced by cheaper effort and a bit of technology. But therein lies the fallacy, which can be easily exposed by looking at the dictionary definition. The Oxford English dictionary defines elegant as 'graceful and stylish'. That certainly describes the second coxswain, but the second definition sums up good engineering which we should all be aspiring to: 'pleasingly clever but simple'.