When Theory Meets Practice (Part 2)

The is an idiomatic phrase coined by Indochinese Thai vendors. It implies things are similar yet distinct, and often used to describe fakes, alternatives, or nuanced differences.  The same is true with theory and practice. What we learned in theory should work in practiee. But any experienced engineer will tell you that's not the case.

My years in the Polytechnics certainly had their highs and lows. The highs were, of course, the projects I got to build in my second and third years. The low? A lecturer who was mediocre. Not incompetent, exactly—he knew the material well enough to recite it from the textbook. But his knowledge ended where the textbook ended. And he taught us electronics!

It was frustrating. Demoralizing. A class of eager students, hungry to understand, met with a teacher who could only point at words on a page. We learned despite him, not because of him. That mediocre instructor was a regrettable blot in my tertiary study—but in hindsight, he taught me something valuable. 

Not about electronics, but about teaching. About the difference between knowing a subject and being able to share it. About the kind of educator I would try to become, years later, when I sat down to write my first book.

 

When Theory Meets Practice (Part 1)

I'm not trying to be funny here; just stating a fact that many aspiring engineers have come to know when trying to apply what they've learned.

Even the transition from high school to tertiary education can be quite a shock for most people, let alone real working life. The first year wasn't exactly what I had envisioned after I was accepted into the Singapore Polytechnics, the very first of the country-state's multi-disciplinary institution. Instead of plunging straight into studying and doing electronics, we were subjected to a whole year's worth of theory on applied mathematics, basic electricity, mechanical science, and materials engineering. 

Of course, there were practicals but not what you would imagine: metalwork, woodwork, electrical control, arc and gas welding, lathe machining, and precision CNC milling. Interesting? Yeah... Tiring? Definitely.

On hindsight, we understood that engineering isn't just about electronics. Engineering is about making things—real things, physical things, things that exist in the world. Before we could call ourselves electronics engineers, we needed to understand what it meant to shape materials, to join them, to machine them to tolerance. 

High School Hobbyist

Everybody has a hobby—sooner or later. Mine came during high school days when the class teacher introduced us to electronics.

After learning the basics of electricity and how circuits work, and doing simple experiments in the laboratory, we couldn't wait to get our hands on whatever we could find to make our own projects. Back in the 1970s, the place to go was Sim Lim Tower where many small family run electronic shops congregated, offering their wares to entice would be electronics enthusiasts.

The real breakthrough, however, was when the class teacher let us build a superheterodyne AM receiver, though I suspected back then many of us didn't understand what the super-heck-the-roden thingie was. But we built it anyway.

And the deal was sealed, at least for me. Electronics it was!

 

The First Spark

Life is made up of a series of sparks which propel us in our journey of learning and growth. But the first spark is often the most significant. It can be a moment of realization, a special encounter, or the quiet observation of someone close to you. It is the source that started us on the path of discovery and exploration.

However, not everyone remembers. Or clearly at which point in time or life that made them decide what they wanted to do or be. One of the favorite questions posed in class to young students is: What would you like to be when you grow up. The young minds fire up and imagine their own future of possibilities.

For me? I wanted to be like my father—to be able to fix things. To take things apart and know what make them work, and why they fail. That's what my father taught me, by what he did around the house, and through my quiet obeservation.

Sometimes the daily inculcation of a mindset is unspoken. But it catches on. And without realizing it, you find yourself aligning and steering your own destiny towards that goal, only to find out that there are more waiting beyond the horizon.

 

The Seasons of Life

In setting out to write a memoir of my life, I have pondered on the paths I've taken. Not every one of them are by choice, but each has had its own share of challenges and surprises. From a boy watching his father fixed things around the house, to a student learning electronics, to an apprentice in the military and established engineer in the commerical sectors, until today as a self-published author sharing my thirty years of experiences, I have walked through my own seasons of life.

And this is precisely how I will frame my lifestory—as a four-part narratives:

1. The Academic Years
2. The Air Force Years
3. The ST Electronics Years

4. The Author Years

Nothing fanciful, really. Just authentic and personal. There are valuable life lessons that I am still able to recall, for now, and these anecdotes will interweave with the work experiences I will be sharing with my readers.

Hopefully, it will inspire more engineers to embrace their work as a calling, and not just a career. At least that's what I hope my memoir will achieve, if nothing else.

 

Dear Reader

The Preface is an introductory section that explains the story behind a book's creation, and is written by the author. In all my engineering books, I always include one with my motivation for writing, the scope of the subject covered, and sometimes the relevance of my experience.

In writing my own memoir, I decided to use the personal address "Dear Reader" in place of the usual term. And there are good reasons. Firstly, it is about my life story. Secondly, it is directed to my readers. And thirdly, it is meant to be a gift—an impartation of something personal and dear to me—the memories of a journey forged in adversities, uncertainties, yet much to be grateful about.

Here is a fragment of what I have written, a foretaste if you may:

Dear Reader

The book you hold in your hands began not as a book at all, but as a series of moments—small decisions, unexpected turns, challenges faced and overcome. For much of my life, I did not think of my journey as remarkable. I was simply doing what needed to be done: learning my craft, supporting my family, solving the problems that landed on my workbench.

It was only later, after thirty years in the engineering trenches, after I had written six technical books and begun to reflect on the path that brought me there, that I realized my story might have value beyond the circuits and schematics.

This is a book about electronics. But it is also a book about life. The two, I have come to understand, are not so different.

A circuit is a system of connections. Components linked by traces, signals flowing along paths designed for purpose. When the system works, we barely notice it. When it fails, we must face and resolve the issue—tracing the broken connection, identifying the failed component, understanding why the expected behavior has stopped.

Life is the same. 

We are all systems of connections: to family, to work, to dreams and duties and the people who depend on us. Life's circuit has a way of completing itself—not always as we expected, not always along the path we would have chosen, but in ways that can surprise us with their wisdom and their grace.

I hope this glimpse will create an anticipation for the upcoming memoir, just like the six engineering books before it, one that is engaging and filled with words of inspiration to learn from my trade, but this time, from my own life. For the past ten years, I have found much joy in writing and sharing my knowledge in electronics, whether it's reverse engineering a PCB, deciphering a schematic, or diagnosing a failure. I hope you, my readers, have found the joy of reading them too.

In gratitude.

 

A Memoir in the Works

It's been almost three years since I wrote "PCB Diagnostics", the last of my engineering books. After diverting to writing sci-fi and other genre of faith-related books, I felt it's time to retrace my life's journey from a high school electronic hobbyist to a full-fledge engineer. 

Few engineers write their own memoirs and I can understand why. Writing is hard, Writing about your engineering knowledge (and expertise) is harder. But writing about your own life's journey on this aspect? Believe me, it's much, much harder.

So what prompted me to write my own biography? Well, age is catching up on me and my health isn't as good as it's used to be. So before I pass off the scene, I thought, "Heck, why not tell the story of my life and how I arrive at where I am now?" I'm sure readers of my engineering books would love to know the intricate details of those personal anecdotes which I mentioned in passing in several of my works.

Here is the book cover concept and back blurb:

As most readers are aware, I have the habit of creating the book cover and blurb to give me a handle before I start out to write the content. It helps me focus on my task better——in this case, my life story.

This work is of a different nature, though. It will have a mixed of engineering and emotional stuff weaved into a personal narrative. Readers who enjoyed my engaging style of writing will most certainly not want to miss out on this opportunity to know, really know the author behind the books they found helpful in learning the black art of PCB-RE.

So keep a look out for the progress. And leave a comment if you are a fan of my books. I would love to hear from you and be inspired to write more, if health permits.

Stay well and safe, my friends!