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4 • Recognition of Autonomy

Autonomy is reached when the problem solution becomes independent of its creator. There comes a time, in developing the solution to any kind of problem, when the object or situation being worked on begins to have an independent life of its own. It begins to make suggestions to the creator—it takes a hand in developing itself. Or just the opposite may occur: the object may tell you by its nature that what you are proposing won't work. Charles Kettering, in developing the high compression automo­bile engine, used to admonish his assistants to "Let the engine tell you what it needs!" This was perfect recognition of the autonomy of engines.

Such recognition is important to the speed of a creative solu­tion. If the creator ignores the natural inclination of a problem solution to be good or bad, he is only causing himself needless effort and wasting resources. There is no point in developing a chair capable of holding a 130-pound person if the people who will be using it will average 180 pounds or more. At the same time, it is poor and wasteful design to build a chair capable of handling 180 pounds when the greatest load it will ever be subjected to will be a 40- or 50-pound child.

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