Re: Visualizing

On 9/6/2024 4:21 PM, Joe Gwinn wrote:

There is another kind of visualization that is very common and quite
useful:  Most people who take an internal combustion engine apart and
reassembles it can diagnose mechanical problems from the sound made by
the engine as a vehicle drives past - one can "see" the moving parts
as they are making the noise in that engine.  Most auto mechanics can
do this, and so can I.

That's true of most "mechanisms".
I brought SWMBO's vehicle back to the dealer, shortly after purchase.
I told them the rear left shock was bad.
Got the car back with an explanation that the spare *tire* wasn't
adequately secured and THAT was the source of the noise.
Don't argue with the young girl.  Drive home.  REMOVE spare tire from
car.  Grab a short length of 2x4 and return to dealership.  Ask service
manager to take a ride with me.  Show him the empty tire well before
setting out.
Down side street.  Stop.  Place 2x4 in roadway.  Ride over it so only
the RIGHT wheels experience the "bump".  Repeat for left side.
"Oh, I see what you mean.  I'll have the techs look into it.
Some months later, same scenario:  the latch for the rear seat on
the driver's side needs to be adjusted.  Return to pick up car
and am told "the license plate frame was loose and that's what
was rattling".
"Hop in car, please.  Hear that rattle?  AFTER you have *fixed* it?"
Unlatch the driver's side seat and fold it down.   "Notice rattle is
now gone -- and I never exited the vehicle to fiddle with the license
plate frame??"
Neighbor complaining of spending a small fortune on front end repairs
for his car.  "It's making a funny noise" (Q:  why are noises "funny"?)
Take a ride.  Yup.  "Your tie rod (or maybe sway bar) is hitting the
'frame'"  Simple *missing* rubber bumper was the fix.
Of course, I will leave it to *him* to realize that the folks he
was having work on the car were giving him a royal f*cking!
When I was doing tabletting, you could look at a tablet and determine
the state of the tooling and current settings from the mechanical
artifacts that would manifest in its form.  But, you needed to make
a *machine* to do this because disinterested operators would never
take/invest the time to examine their "product".  (It's just a job)