Critical Engineering Manifesto #8

8. The Critical Engineer looks to the history of art, architecture, activism, philosophy and invention and finds exemplary works of Critical Engineering. Strategies, ideas and agendas from these disciplines will be adopted, re-purposed and deployed.

Realms other than the ones of engineering are recognized as important and fundamental to further development and innovation. It is necessary to look back and assess history and use it for our benefit. This, I feel, is a very significant view to have in the world of engineering; to not ignore the fact that all other facets of life not only require engineering, but influence it. History provides us with the ability to view problems in retrospect, and taking advantage of this viewpoint is what allows engineers to learn more about humankind and what humankind requires of the field of engineering. For example, master painters used a device called the Camera Lucida, which was a glass prism in which to view what was in front of you onto a sheet of paper or canvas in order to trace it down. Golan Levin just recently re-purposed this device in order to make it more accessible for current artists who would have interest in using it by engineering it in an affordable way. This was an invention of the past, slightly forgotten about, but was able to be redesigned for present day.