Friday, June 02, 2017
Wrong assumption. Why?
Got the electronics itch again, so I was looking in some Soviet electronic mags from the 1920s. I was thinking that recent Russian circuits and programs are clever and ELEGANT, so earlier Russian electronics must also be elegant.
I was wrong. The 1920s Russian circuits were unoriginal and clumsy.
Why was I wrong?
I should have been thinking of another comparison that I'd noticed in auto engineering. In discussing Ford's attempt to build a plant in Leningrad, I ran across this analysis:
The social-political climate in the Soviet industry was a mix of enthusiasm and fear. The political police, local Communist party structures and union leadership were very influential, and their suspicion towards engineers, as a part of intellectual class, “intelligentsia”, was evident. Moreover, strong professional jealousy had risen between Russian and American engineers. The Russians were proud of their theoretical knowledge, while Americans stressed the importance of practical experience.At that time Russian intellectuals, including engineers, were heavily influenced by Kraut culture. They emphasized theory over practice. At that time American intellectuals but NOT American engineers were also Teutonic. American engineers followed the British practical tradition and became even more practical from frontier experience. Now it's backwards. Americans are all theory, and Russian engineers since ~1960 are practical and creative. What made the difference? I'm always ready to blame genes, but can't blame genes for a variable! Best guess: Soviet education made the difference. After 1920 American education became purely rote and theoretical, and got even worse after Sputnik. Russian education was moving in the opposite direction, and by the time of Sputnik was strongly EXPERIMENTAL AND EXPERIENTIAL. Post-switchover Russians are the product of GOOD education. Post-switchover Yanks are the product of ATROCIOUS education.
Labels: Experiential education, switchover
¶ 5:28 PM
