ELIMINATING DEPENDENCE

To the Editor: The article “Designing for the Rest of the Global Market” (September) is very interesting and points out some great things that most engineers will never realize regarding connecting with local people to understand the problem before developing a solution.

After spending my summer in Nairobi, Kenya, working with project managers, electricians, and engineers, I can completely agree with those statements in the article. It fails to point out the idea, however, that we are the “middle man” who probably needs eliminating from the process.

Given that a native will understand the culture and the nature of any given problem better than an American ever could, it may actually be better to teach and train locals in order that they may design technological solutions of their own. Trying to run an industry ourselves might actually be unintentionally causing poorer countries to be harmfully dependent on us, thereby hindering growth and development.

Removing ourselves from this process might seem counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to stop giving the man a fish that feeds him for a day, and instead teach him how to catch fish so that he may be fed for a lifetime.

DAVID BELL
SEARCY, ARK.

HANDS ON

To the Editor: Some time ago I wrote you to, and you were kind enough to publish my views on the need for a return to practical work in college curricula, following a thought-provoking article about John Ratzenberger and his foundation, Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs (Letters, November 2010; original article, Input Output, April 2010).

Recently, in a conversation with one of my work colleagues who attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I learned the MIT motto, “Minds and Hands,” which describes exactly the type of education program I was advocating.

I cannot for the life of me understand why this excellent example has not been followed by other universities around the country. After all, what better example to follow than one provided by MIT, which by any measure is a leader in engineering and science education.

Perhaps one of the many distinguished MIT alumni and staff out there in the world of engineering could pick up the baton and explain the concept, how it works, and what other centers of learning could do to follow.
Ah! I think I see the rub. Who wants to be a follower, even if the leader is worth following?

DOUGLAS L. MARRIOTT
SOUTH LEBANON, OHIO