The Craftsman

One of my requirements in college was I had to take at least two electives that were only 2 hr. courses. No grades or testing, you just had to attend. One that I chose was "Engineering in History." What a fantastic course and the prof was equally up to the task, extremely interesting. Holding your attention for a full hour twice a week takes talent and this guy had it. The course covered engineering from about 3500 BC up to the current time. It went into construction methods for things such as the old cathedrals and how they kept the high walls from caving in or collapsing. It covered the construction of roads and bridges going way back, how they built the supports/pilings for bridges that were constructed underwater. Building water wheels, windmills, how the different manufacturing processes were powered...anything and everything you could possibly think of. The various techniques used over the ages were covered and how they changed/advanced as the centuries went by. The prof used slides, opaque images, actual models of various things. He held the attention of the entire auditorium for an hour twice a week, I still have the textbook...somewhere!

Forgot to add: This man reminds me of my dad, they both were masters in working with wood. I still have some pieces dad turned out. The stuff the man in the video created is beautiful and like he said...it took years for him to reach that point of perfection, but looking at the end product it was well worth it.