I was browsing a 1,000 page textbook on engineering fundamentals the other day and realized that I could access anything in that book, and much more, using Gemini, Claude, or other chatbots that intrude on my web-browsing sessions these days. So, why write a textbook any more?
Taylor and Francis asked me to write a second edition of “The Making of an Expert Engineer”, so this question, the place of books in the chatbot era, is exercising my frontal cortex these days. I received lots of complimentary reviews for the first edition published12 years ago, but one particularly acerbic reaction echoes through my mind to this day. “There’s nothing in this book that couldn’t be written in 100 pages.”
I need to engage engineers, and I know that most find themselves time-poor and reading lies at the murky bottom of a long list of daily priorities. So, how should I present a text that claims a place higher on that list.
Some preliminary ideas include:
- Short chapters
- Framing common dilemmas and challenges, such as schedule and budget tradeoffs
- Suggesting questions for chatbots to get a response written for your particular discipline or situation
One framework for the book is creating economic and social value through effective engineering workplace practices. A second overlapping frame is the distinction between knowledge (influences what you do) and information (what you can send by email). Knowledge accumulates through practice and experience. Transforming information to knowledge is slow, tedious, and error-prone. Experts don’t need to spend nearly as much time absorbing information, but it can be hard for younger engineers to figure out why.
Several chapters in the first edition became part of my book for graduates and early career engineers, Learning Engineering Practice. However, I can’t overlook the importance of fundamentals such as good listening skills, for example.
So, let me know if you have found new books that support interaction with chatbots as a way to expand the reader’s experience. I would like to see examples that show how other authors are finding new and imaginative ways to write books that make knowledge and understanding more accessible.
Photo by Gülfer ERGİN on Unsplash
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