Engineering Thinking

I came across a math problem, said to be a Tokyo University entrance exam question: prove that π > 3.05.

To solve this problem, you need to know how π is defined: the ratio of circumference to diameter. You can start with a square inscribed in a circle, then a hexagon, octagon, 12-sided polygon. Break down the complex problem into small pieces, small enough, and solve them one by one.

That is engineering thinking.

I’m reading “On Systems Engineering” by Qian Xuesen. His core idea is “meta-synthesis”—combining expert knowledge, data, and computer modeling to tackle complex systems. You can’t solve complex systems in one shot. Decompose, approximate, iterate.

I will teach my daughter math this way. Engineering thinking is a life skill, not just math.