Abstract

Our time appreciates rationality and logic. We think that these qualities are the only functions in science, and together with carefully gathered knowledge those are the most powerful tools in our technical, economical and social progress. But in the case of design work we realize that these tools are quite dull and we have got into a tight place with them. All remarkable creative inventions are rational and logical, when we look at them afterwards, but in order to find something new in front of us more powerful tools are needed.

The tools are sensations and intuition. Because of their subconscious nature, we often do not take them seriously in our scientific work. All practical designers, however, are acquainted with those subconscious functions of the mind and they use them in those phases of work, when we have to go ahead of present knowledge. The rationality and logic of the new results are checked afterwards and, in a favourable case, a new piece of science is attained.

The first part of this book discusses the irrational functions of our mind. On the basis of the experience in engineering design it suggests some practical methods for controlling of them. All design work is based on knowledge of materials and components, but this knowledge must be alive especially in our subconscious mind. The second part of this book gives some examples of the nature of knowledge usable in creative engineering design. (Only in printed version)