Appendix
3
Engineering
and Time-Binding
THE Arts
of Engineering, by their very nature, are derived from the work
of dead men and destined to serve not only the present but the future.
They are freer than any other human activity from the errors of
intermixing dimensions and from the fallacy of belief in individualistic
accomplishment and pride. The simple steel structure of a bridge,
familiar to us in every day life, is a clear reminder to us all
of the arts of Hephaestus and the bound-up knowledge of countless
generations of smiths and mechanics, metallurgists and chemists,
mathematicians and builders, teachers and engineers who toiled for
many thousands of years to make possible the riveted steel beams
which are the elements of modern structure. These structures do
not collapse unless the natural laws for their construction are
transgressed; which seldom happens-for no one is entrusted with
the work unless he has bound up in his knowledge the accumulated
experience of the past; yet the transgressors of these natural laws
are punished with all the severity of the common law. When a bridge
is opened and tested, the written laws in some countries and the
unwritten in others, and the pride and the sense of responsibility
of the designer and builder of the bridge demand that he, the creator
of the bridge, be the first to enter it and the last to leave it;
and should the bridge collapse, he has to take the immediate consequences
of his neglect of the time-binding laws.
Rarely are the affairs
of engineering done with the entirely selfish motive of merely acquiring
immediate selfish gain, for even when this could be traced-this
unworthy thought disappears in the halo of the glory of the accomplishment.
Mr. Eiffel did not erect his tower to haunt Paris with the sight
of a steel skeleton towering over the city of daring thoughts. His
tower stands to-day as a mechanical proof of mathematical formulas
proving the possibility of erecting tall, self-supporting structures
and thereby serving future humanity. The Time-binding capacity of
humans creates and formulates new values for the service of mankind.
Again, no student of the Arts of Engineering could ever forget himself
to the point of claiming his accomplishments, no matter how marvelous,
all to himself. No wondrous discovery of modern electricity, not
even the talking from one hemisphere to another, is rightly the
accomplishment of any one man, for the origin of the discovery can
be traced at least as far back as the days of that barefooted shepherd
boy Magnus, who first observed the phenomena of magnetism.
In an attempt to trace
and evaluate the time-binding faculties manifested in the Arts of
Engineering, one is at once astonished, and bewildered, at the confusion
and contradictions unrealized in the mass of evidence, and how pathetic
and deplorable is the sight of hundreds of thousands of workers
in the field of engineering toil and creation who unconsciously
submit to the degradation, in silent consent, of seeing their marvelous
collective achievements chained to space-binding aims.
Upon the completion
of this book I was astonished that there are such a small number
of engineers who have the intuitive feeling of the greatness of
the assets at their command and of the gravity of their liabilities
concerning affairs of humanity. I was eager to have my book read
and analysed by a few leading engineers. The late H. L. Gantt being
no more with us, I then turned to Walter N. Polakov, Doctor of Engineering;
Industrial Counselor; Chairman of Committee on Service and Information,
Fuels Section, A.S.M.E., and Robert B. Wolf, Vice-President of A.S.M.E.
In them I found, to the full, a very sympathetic understanding and
my esteem grew as I became more intimately acquainted with the character
of their work and their accomplishments. Both have done a most remarkable
work in their respective lines. It will not be an exaggeration to
say that their work, together with the work of the late H. L. Gantt
and Charles P. Steinmetz, may be considered as the first-to my knowledge-
corner-stones of the science and art of Human Engineering, and
form the first few volumes and writings for the New Library of the
Manhood of Humanity. These books and pamphlets are based on facts
analysed scientifically, marking the parting of the way of engineering
thought from the past subjection to speculative fetishes.
Of all the pure and
applied sciences, engineering alone has the distinction of being
the first to have the correct insight into the human problem.
The task of engineers was to convert knowledge-brain work-"bound-up
time"-into daily bread by means of conserving time and effort. This
concept is naught else but the working out of the imperfect formulation
of the time-binding principle. It was inevitable, therefore, that
some engineers had already beaten the path in the right direction.
How straight and how far this sense of dimensionality has led some
of them in their practical work may be seen from the work of Walter
N. Polakov, in his Mastering Power Production, Engineering
Magazine, N. Y., 1921.
"It was not my intention
to compile a text book on power engineering; it was rather my care
to avoid the treatment of any technical subject which could be found
elsewhere in engineering literature; but I could not avoid trespassing
in the adjoining fields of psychology and economics, for without
familiarity with these sciences the mastery of power production
is a futile attempt.
"I do not hold that
the principles upon which the method is laid out are subject to
choice or opinions, for they are based on facts. Yet work of this
character cannot be complete, or examples may be illy chosen, for
it deals with living and constantly reshaping relations and applies
to things in process of development.
"If this work and
its underlying idea will facilitate the solving of some of the problems
now in the course of rapid evolution in our industrial relations,
I shall feel that my own and my readers' time have not been altogether
lost."
Indeed the readers'
time will not be lost. This book gives an engineering, scientific-in
the meantime practical-analysis of all human problems. It is a deep
and practical treatise on all great questions concerning modern
industrialism and so-called economic problems and is a foundation
for a new scientific industrial philosophy. Another very clear outline
of the Principles of Industrial Philosophy was given by Mr.
Polakov in his paper presented at the annual meeting of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers, December 7-l0, 1920. Anyone who
has anything to do with industrial or economic problems cannot afford
to overlook the important and fundamental work in this book.
It is obvious that
a scientific knowledge of facts, is of the greatest importance for
anyone who cares to approach any problem in a serious way. Statistics
which are up-to-date are therefore of primary importance. I had
the privilege of reading the manuscript of Quo Vadis America,
the forthcoming book of Mr. Polakov, where a most valuable statistical
picture of facts in modern America is given and the astonishing
conclusions which are to be drawn therefrom. I can only regret that
in Europe we have not such a knowledge written down concerning European
conditions. If more such books had been written and read by
the public, many crises and catastrophes would have been avoided.
The outstanding contribution
of Mr. Robert B. Wolf to engineering was made in his study of physiology,
biology, psychology and philosophy as applied to engineering.
"If anyone wishes
to inquire into the forces which have led up to the individual development
of mankind, he will find himself at once plunged into the realm
of psychology and mental philosophy. I can heartily recommend such
a course as immensely profitable and of practical value.
"The five important
facts, however, that have to do with the subject in hand are:
"1st. That
the human body is such a wonderful organization because it is the
product of the forces of creation, acting through millions of years
of evolution.
"2nd. That
its capacity for progress depends upon the maintenance of the unity
resulting from this creative evolution and upon a conscious recognition
of this unity.
"3d. That this
unity would not have been possible without the development of the
nervous system.
"4th. That
the conscious intelligent progress made by mankind could not have
reached its present level until in the process of evolution a mechanism
had been built up in the nervous system itself capable of recording
the various impressions which the senses are constantly receiving.
"5th. That
the recording of past events, with the power of consciously recalling
them for the solution of problems immediately confronting it, is
absolutely essential to its development
"Now, what I want
to point out is that inasmuch as man's progress depends upon the
perfect co-ordination of his forces to produce unity of action,
we have no right to expect an industrial organization to make progress
which it must do as a unit without the establishment of a conscious
co-ordinating mechanism similar to the nervous system in the human
body." Individuality in Industry. By Robert B. Wolf.
Doctor Charles P.
Steinmetz has given in his America and the New Epoch a most
correct engineering picture of the political situation in the world,
with a fine characterization of the psychological peculiarities
of the different races. Although this book was written in 1916,
that is, before the end of the World War, it will be of permanent
value; because of its deep psychological analysis of the peoples
and their institutions which ultimately shape the development of
any nation and which do not change with victory or defeat.
"My tribute to the
memory of Gantt will be, not only the homage of a friend and admirer,
but the proof that his philosophy is scientifically true. A rigorous
proof is necessary, because the word 'service' belongs to that category
of words, the meaning of which can be completely reversed by the
verb, be it 'give' or 'take.' Gantt took 'rendering service' as
an axiom; my observation, shared with many others, is that our civilization
had quite another axiom, 'we preach give, we practice take.' The
problem which interested me, was how to find a way out of this contradiction
that would be irrefutable. If one of them is true and natural law
for humans, then the other is not; if our words are true, then our
deeds are not true, or if our deeds are true then the words are
camouflage. I found the solution, by applying mathematically rigorous
thinking. Mathematics, with its exact concept of dimensions, gave
me the method. The method we use in studying phenomena is analysis
or speaking mathematically, differentiation. I soon found, that
the methods of differentiation are mostly correct, but our synthesis,
or process of integration made by the use of metaphysics was faulty.
The differentiation correctly lowered the dimensions, but our faulty
integration did not restore the original dimensions. The investigation
had to be made from the beginning, by defining the phenomena of
life, in a specific way, which would not permit of any blunders
m dimensions
"I defined the classes
of life by emphasizing their incontestable, dimensional characteristics:
plants are 'Chemistry-binding,' animals are 'Space-binding,' Humans
are 'Time-binding' classes of life.
"These definitions
have the peculiarity that they make it obvious, that: 1 The classes
of life have different dimensions, and that the intermixing of dimensions.
as in mathematics it makes a correct solution impossible, so in
life, the results of such elementary mistakes, produce tragic consequences.
"2 The old formula
on which our civilization is built, HUMAN equal ANIMAL plus or multiplied
by SPARK OF DIVINITY is basically and elementarily wrong, and is
mathematical nonsense, which is identical to such an absurdity as
x square inches equal y linear inches plus or multiplied
by z cubic inches.
"3 This basically
wrong formula on which our civilization rests, is the cause of all
the periodical collapses, wars and revolutions.
"4 The old system
was built on animal 'space-binding' standards, and human 'time-binding'
impulses were, all the time, in rebellion.
"5 As the theory of
gravitation and the calculus made engineers and mathematicians masters
of inanimate nature, so these tangible and incontestable definitions
give them a positive base which will enable them to approach and
solve human living problems, by establishing the mathematical fact
that man is man, not an animal.
"6 All of those who
are blinded by traditions and refuse to investigate, or to know
these mathematical truths, are a danger to humanity in directly
helping to obscure issues, and in helping to maintain the faulty
structure which, as in the past, is bound to collapse again and
again in the future.
"7 The duty of mathematically
thinking people is to throw such light on this problem as will stop
the stupid, or willfully destructive, and show whether they are
working for or against, mankind.
"8 For the 'time-binding'
class of life, it is obvious then that in this dimension, 'time-binding'
is the natural law, and, if understood and analysed, it is the highest
human aim.
"9 Such 'natural laws'
as 'survival of the fittest' for animals, which is the 'survival
of the fittest in space,' result in fight, or the survival of the
strongest; whereas such a law to be a NATURAL LAW FOR HUMANS, must
be in the human dimension which obviously would be the 'Survival
of the fittest in TIME,' resulting in the survival of the best.
"10 All known facts
must be brought to the light, to be summed up, and correlated by
mathematicians and engineers with the strictest attention to dimensionality.
"11 All of our ideas
have to be revised; the animal 'space-binding' standards must be
rejected as dangerous and destructive, must be replaced by 'time-binding'
standards, which will correspond to the natural impulses and NATURAL
LAWS for humans.
"12 The minds of mathematicians
and engineers are by education the first to see the far reaching
importance of the facts disclosed by these definitions, and just
this realization will bring about the readjustment of values in
life to a human dimension, wherein pending revolutions and wars
could be turned into evolution, destruction into construction, discord
into accord of a common aim.
"We are the masters
of our own destinies, the responsibility is ours to correct the
mistakes of our ancestors and to establish a scientific philosophy,
scientifically true laws, scientifically true ethics, and a scientific
sociology, which will form one unified science of man and his function
in the universe, a science which I propose to call 'Human Engineering.'
Gantt's methods would be the first practical application toward
this end.
"Gantt's concept of
rendering service is scientifically true because it is 'time-binding,'
and therefore true for the human class of life and in human dimension.
This is why Gantt's concepts have counted for so much and will survive
'IN TIME.'" . . . Discussion by Alfred Korzybski of Mr. W. N. Polakov's
paper "Principles of Industrial Philosophy" presented at the Annual
Meeting of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York,
December 7-10, 1920.
LITERATURE
GANTT,
H. L.:
"Work, Wages, and
Profits." The Engineering Magazine
"Industrial Leadership."
Yale University Press. 1916.
"Organizing for Work."
Harcourt, Brace & Howe 1919. N. Y.
Selection from Contents:
The Engineer as the Industrial Leader. Economics and Democracy.
Democracy in Production. Democracy in the Shop. Democracy in Management.
"The Religion of Democracy."
POLAKOV, WALTER N.:
"Mastering Power Production."
The Engineering Magazine Co. 1921. N. Y.
Selection from Contents:
The Descent of the Principle of Production for Use. The Power Industry
as an Economic Factor. Mastering Labor Problems. (Conditions) Autonomous
Co-operation. Aims of Labor. Right to be Lazy and the Right to a
Job. Qualification of Men. The Working Day. Fatigue. UNIVERSAL
LABOR (Corresponding exactly to Time-binding-Author).
The Position of an Engineer. Mastering Labor Problems. Compensation.
The Social Aspect. The Economic Aspect. The Basis of Wages. Incentive
Payments. Profit Sharing. Premium Places. Rewarding Individual Efforts.
Two-rate wages. Energy as a Commodity.
"Principles of Industrial
Philosophy." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the A.S. of M.E.,
December, 1920.
"Equipment and Machinery."
Y.M.C.A. Association Press. 1921. N. Y.
"Organization and
Management." Y.M.C.A. Association Press. 1921. N. Y.
"Quo Vadis America?"
In preparation.
STEINMETZ, CHARLES
P.:
"America and the New
Epoch." Harper & Brothers. 1916. N. Y.
Selection from Contents:
The Individualistic Era: From Competition to Co-operation. England
in the Individualistic Era. Germany in the Individualistic Era.
The Other European Nations in the Individualistic Era. America in
the Individualistic Era. Evolution: Industrial Government.
"Incentive and Initiative."
Y.M.C.A. Association Press. 1921. N. Y.
WOLF, ROBERT B.: Pamphlets.
" Individuality in
Industry." Bulletin of the Society to promote the Science
of Management. Vol. I. No. 4. August, 1915.
"The Creative Workman."
Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry. 1918.
N. Y.
"Non-Financial Incentives."
Presented at the Annual Meeting of the A. S. of M. E. December,
1918. N. Y.
"Modern Industry and
the Individual." A. W. Shaw & Co. 1919. N. Y.
"Securing the Initiative
of the Workman." American Economic Association. 1919. N. Y.
"Creative Spirit in
Industry." Y.M.C.A. Association Press. 1921. N. Y.
MISCELLANEOUS LIST
OF BOOKS
VON BERNHARDI, General
F.: "Germany and the Next War." E. Arnold, London. 1912.
BRANDEIS, Louis: Other
People's Money and How the Bankers Use it." F. A. Stokes, N. Y.
1914.
THOMAS FARROW and
WALTER CROTCH: "The Coming Trade War." Chapman & Hall, London.
1916.
HUEFFER, FORD MADDOX:
When Blood is Their Argument. Hodder & Stoughton. 1915. N. Y.
HAWSER, HENRY: "Germany's
Commercial Grip on the World. Her Business Methods Explained." E.
Nash Co., London. 1917.
LAUGHLIN, J. L.: "Credit
of the Nations." Scribner's Sons, N. Y. 1918.
MAETZU, RAMIRO DE
: "Authority, Liberty and Function in the Light of War." Geo. Allen
and Unwin.
DELAISI, FRANCIS:
French Opinion, "The Inevitable War." Small. Maynard & Co..
Boston. 1915,
NEILSON, FRANCIS:
English Opinion, "How Diplomats Make War." B. W. Huebsch. 1916.
BY A GERMAN (German
Opinion). "J'Accuse!" Hodder & Stoughton. London. 1915.
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