July 2005 Mechanical Engineering: Editorial

editorial

Summer Reading

By
John G. Falcioni,
Editor-in-Chief

There are few things more precious on a lazy summer afternoon than sitting quietly under the shade of a leafy tree engrossed in a good book. But like most of you, even making time for leisurely reading requires me to develop a careful strategy. How do I juggle my voluminous work-related reading with a little E.B. White or James Joyce on the side? It's often impossible.

But a few weeks ago, I was touring around with my son at Barnes & Noble on a Saturday afternoon and picked up a copy of Old Mr. Flood, a short book written by Joseph Mitchell, a well-regarded 20th century reporter.

Old Mr. Flood is a fictitious story based on Mitchell's keen observations of New York, specifically Manhattan's famous Fulton Fish Market on the East River. Mitchell loved to write about real local rogues, although he changed their names to protect the proverbial innocents, and his story features plenty of fish-eating, whiskey-drinking, and death.

The raw grit and sometimes nasty behavior of a big city are hardly akin to anything in engineering. But technology can show an ugly underbelly too, as it affects our way of life. Sure, I'm adding a dose of my own literary license, but put yourself in the user's seat rather than the developer's, and you get a hugely different perspective than you might working in the lab.

WiFi lets us do things we couldn't do before—like work longer hours from home.

Take wireless technology, for example. Clearly, it makes our jobs more efficient. No doubt about it. But the repercussions show up when we learn that we've been sold a bill of goods when we were told it was supposed to make our jobs easier and make our leisure time more civil. Think about it: More productive at work means less need to worry about our next project when we're home. But that's not what your boss may be expecting.

WiFi, cell phones, videoconferencing, and their further growth in the next decade will enable us to do things we couldn't do before. One side of that is a huge benefit, but the other part means longer hours working, especially at home, and fewer hours reading E.B. White.

A recent study I saw on office trends showed that 42 percent of executives polled say they think their employees will be working more hours in the next 10 to 15 years than they do now—while only 9 percent said they will be working fewer hours. Blame wireless technology!

More distressing news is that workers will stay in touch with the office while on vacation. Heck, who doesn't do that now? Travel will be reduced and telecommuting will increase. That's good, right? Well, workers will be under a lot of pressure to adapt quickly to change, work smarter, increase productivity, and perform duties outside of their job descriptions. "Flexibility and adaptability will be sought-after attributes in employees at all levels," the report said.

Let's face it, the United States was built on the concept of a hard work ethic. And the advances in technology enable us to work more efficiently, if not always smarter.

As for me and Joseph Mitchell, I'm planning on taking a week off in the middle of this month and can't say for sure that I'll be able to finish another of his books. But one thing is certain; I'll be lugging my Treo by my side.