Date:         Fri, 3 Mar 2006 22:57:18 -0800
Reply-To:     Aristotle Sagan <killer.jupiter@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aristotle Sagan <killer.jupiter@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: QT Video of New Microbus From Germany - Reply to Tim's
              "imagination masturbation" statement
Comments: To: robertmstewart <robertmstewart@mac.com>
In-Reply-To:  <C02DF8FA.65D0%robertmstewart@mac.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

Y'all sit there and fantasize all you want. I am a robotics engineer who
often sits and dreams of what can be, but not to the point of violating the
known physical laws of the universe. Hence my reference to masturbatory
pleasure of things that cannot be. The Westy engineers took a known design
and modified it using the parameters they had, not some ideal that could
never be.

I prefer to live in the known world.. thank you.

tim in san jose


On 3/3/06, robertmstewart <robertmstewart@mac.com> wrote:
>
> Tim,
>
> Sorry but I could not let this one get away..
>
> "It can't be built so it's a simple exercise in imagination masturbation.
> An interesting design exercise? Hardly."
>
> If all designers listened to the likes of automobile engineers with
> similar dispositions regarding these "imagination masturbation" exercises
> than nothing of true design impact would ever be created. You would get
> square box cars with, hard uncomfortable interiors,  no curves, no
> innovation and zero design sensibility.
>
> It is for this single reason alone they created industrial designers, to
> this day it why they are responsible for bridging the gap between the
> imagination of the creative mind, the functionality of purposeful and useful
> design initiatives and the engineers that constantly tell them it can not be
> done. The industrial designers job is see that it can be done within the
> parameters the auto manufactures provide them, and in some cases they
> succeed.
>
> I am sure the beloved Westy Campers were in a similar design exercise but
> some great German minded engineers and industrial designers got together and
> solved the problems to make the vehicle reality.
>
> Try to understand that it is the imagination of human beings that allow us
> to see past our limitations, hence the key importance of why these
> "imagination masturbation" exercises are so important as they show us what
> might be possible if we just put our minds to it.
>
>
> --
> Rob
> NYC/Long Beach, NY
> 88 Wolfsburg, Silver
>
>
>