Hello, everyone. This is the second lesson, and we are going to talk about “Graphic Literacy of Engineers”. In this short video clip, what will you learn? You will learn this graphic literacy that an engineer must possess. So, what does that include? It includes the ability to project, to read graphics, to produce graphics, to express and to narrate. Think about this, for an engineer in the engineering world, what kind of graphic literacy does he need to face the various challenges? First, let me talk about the ability to project. What is that “project”? To project means to put a 3D object down on paper. to express it on paper, so that it can be passed to others. Well, nowadays, we do have many different types of multi-media technology, but mostly, we still convey our ideas through 2D media, that is, printed paper. Well, monitor is also 2D media. So to put this 3D world on paper, how can we do it appropriately? This is indeed the most important ability for an engineer. For example, this is an object, this is something we are going to see very often in the course of Engineering Graphics. We made these blocks for the course of Engineering Graphics. Later I will show you these teaching aids we used. So this is one of the examples of our teaching aids. If we are to express it on paper, how can it be done? Well, this is a 3D object, a complicated object, the simplest way is to express them from different views. You see, we draw one on the front view, another from the side view, and another from the top view. With these three diagrams, if I am able to imagine it in my mind and assemble them correctly, it goes back to this original form. So we can see how important this ability is, the ability to project, it expresses 3D object onto a 2D media. Then, the ability to read graphics, this is the opposite of projection. When you see some 2D diagrams, maybe on paper, maybe on your monitor, or your tablet, after you have seen them, you are able to imagine what it looks like in 3D. So, try to imagine, this diagram, what will it look like in 3D? Here are 2 diagrams, one is what we call the top-view diagram, how we see this object from the top. The other is the front-view diagram, that is, how we see it from the front side. So in your mind, are you able to imagine what the actual object looks like, so that you will see this view from top and see this other one from the side. This is the ability an engineer requires. Well, the actual object should look like this. If you can't imagine this, never mind, this is what this course is for, to help you acquire this ability. When you see a 2D diagram, you will be able to imagine what the 3D object is like. The third ability is to produce graphics. Just now we talked about the abilities to change 3D to 2D, 2D to 3D, this are abilities to distinguish, to think, and to have that sense of imaginary dimension. To produce these graphics is a different ability. It is like the grammar of a language, we don't just want to express ourselves, we want to be precise as we express the contents of our mind. So, what is this ability to produce graphics? It is actually to familiarise the standard and common usage of engineering graphics. That is, if our 3D object is to be projected onto a 2D surface, Engineer A will project the same thing as Engineer B. Or you give your project to Engineer A to do or to read, you will get the same result if you give it to Engineer B instead. So this kind of ability is what we called the ability to produce graphics, you have to master the standard and common usage of Engineering Graphics. So, in this course, I would like you to see the importance of this. There are many ways of drawing, from 3D to 2D, there are many. But which one will the professionals choose to use? In my understanding, this is like the grammar of a language. You can only express yourselves with precision when your grammar is correct. So here, you see that, there are several ways of producing graphics. Some you may understand, some you may not. But anyway, in our course, we will show you the particulars. You will know the jargon of engineering professionals, you will learn how they express themselves in engineering graphics. We will have a lot of explanation in this course. Then, there is the ability to express, this is to present the real world in a virtual world. This is an abstract concept. You can imagine that we have the structure of a house. Supposed you come across a beautiful house, the proprietor asks you to renovate this house, to make a certain kind of design. Assuming you come across such reality, you need to solve the real problem in the real world. One of the essential tools is the ability to put the real world on paper, then, you can continue with the design. Well, this may sound logical, but not so logical. Take another instance, you see a house in a picture. How many diagrams will it take for you to express it clearly on paper? This is a complicated problem. You can see the inside of the house, you can see the walls of the house, you can see the details on the walls, the windows, do we need to show the details of the windows? What about the tree in front of the window, does it need to be clearly shown? Are these things related to your work? What details need to be expressed to achieve the optimum presentation? Too much details or too little details, both seem inappropriate. So this ability to express is one that engineer must understand, how to present the real world in a virtual world. Here we have some examples, these are the student work from my Engineering Graphics class in the Department of Civil Engineering of NTU. The same picture of the house, the student uses 2D to express it. Ok, this is 2D CAD. Then, there is 3D CAD. And there are many know-hows in this. How do we turn this complicated world and use the most appropriate clarity to express it in virtual world. Well, so this is another important ability for engineers. Then, the ability to narrate. This is about timeline, that is, not only we need the ability to express the 3D world, as engineers, we need another ability, the ability to describe the whole process. Well, we have an example here, assuming there is a project, we are to construct this building. How should the cranes work in order to construct such a building? So the ability to describe an incident clearly, this is an ability essential to engineers. So, now, let me put all these into a short summary. First, the graphic literacy of engineers includes: #1, the ability to project, that is, to express a 3D object on a 2D surface. #2, the ability to read graphics, that is, to imagine a 3D object from 2D graphics. #3, the ability to produce graphics, you need to familiarise with the standard and common usage of the grammar of engineering graphics. Once you are familiarised with the grammar, you can express yourself very accurately. #4, the ability to express the real world in the virtual world, to express it just clear enough for engineering purposes. Lastly, #5, the ability to narrate, to describe the process of an incident exactly the way it is. Because in describing the incidents in engineering work, it is not just about the 3D world, the 3D space, we usually require a process, a workflow. So the ability to narrate is also very essential. I hope my explanation is helpful to all of you.
