Titanic Engineering
We use a little Phenolphthalein Indicator in our work, and when I checked for it today, I found we were out. I also found we need a new supplier.
So in a weird twist, I found myself reading about the loss of the Titanic. You see, the the indicator turns purple, and I didn't remember how to spell phenolphtalein. I searched for "turns purple indicator engineering materials", and up came student engineers dying themselves purple with another violet friend, Gentian (don't; cancerous they say).
It's a tribute to the purple rank insignia of the Titanic's Engineering staff who all died (all 345 were men; Edwardians being Edwardian). They were nearly all Scotsmen, and pragmatic types. I read today that "The only reason they were in the tough old way of the sea was to make a living and to live, so that their children might be clad."
It has been an accepted truth that they died at their posts. So you know, the old lie "Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori" isn't for me; I'm a "War is a Racket" and Smedley Butler type. So the story of these men all dying bravely at their post always bothered me greatly, and perhaps even put me to a little shame.
Why not try to live? Steam engines and dynamos without fire are useless. So is the engineer trying to work the machine. Useless. So why stay? Don't die for nothing; Fight!
In my opinion, we should all strive to live. We should live and do our best for our families, and work together to make this strange little rock we all call home that much the better. I think the real fight is us all againt the elements, the turmoil of the unknown, and the vagaries and cruel turns of fate. If we pull together, provide for one another, do so honestly and with conviction, we might just all be able to have more. More economic success, more wealth, more time. Too much taxation leads to less revenue, and too much work to less productivity. But giving honestly of our efforts, looking out for the comforts of those around us, and working to reduce our impacts on this world: That's success.
I don't go to sea, but nevertheless I see far less of my kids than I would want. Like the Titanic Engineers, I work hard so that my children might be clad. I give honestly of my time, and I work hard to reduce the impact of our humanity on this world. I struggle to see that embedded energy is conserved and not wasted, that green washing isn't allowed to be a panacea for everyone's feelings, but rather that real solutions and energy reduction in structures results in true environmental impact reductions.
So I smiled today when I read that the engineers on the Titanic likely all made it to the deck once the work was past hopeless. They didn't struggle on, valiantly facing death despite it being useless... They struggled forward and tried their best to return to their wives and families. They died not uselessly in the dark, but choosing life. That's noble. That's worth remembering.
#WorkToLive
