Design Thinking — Prof. Banny Banerjee

Prof. Banerjee’s lecture was one of the best I’ve heard in my four years at Stanford.

It is so easy as engineers to get so caught up in learning what is already known, simply because there is a vast knowledge pool in this field.  Even if one dedicated a lifetime to learning already established engineering field techniques, one couldn’t possibly master them all.  We forget that it is equally important to train our brains to think in the “Limbic System” — creatively, differently and uniquely to keep pace with changing times and rapid technological progression.  Even old traditions were new once, and if we don’t simultaneously engender new ideas to offer new perspective, society becomes stagnant, and age-old problems will never be solved.

For example, the concept “form follows function,” a well-respected tradition given life and meaning by the renowned Frank Lloyd Wright, was considered novel and visionary at the time of its coining, and arguably still is today.  Yet, current thinkers must question the extent to which traditional ways of thinking are acceptable.  For example, perhaps form does not necessarily follow function anymore in our society because aesthetics comprise a significant, if not equal, part of consumer demand for a product and should thus be considered simultaneously.  The fact is that it is important to question and expand upon age-old traditions because nothing is set in stone.  Respect, but question authority and convention.

I especially appreciated how he worked in anecdotes that we could all relate to in order to shed light on new concepts.  Prof. Banerjee’s story about the fire showed us that our brains can easily access unfamiliar things in unfamiliar ways (e.g. turning chairs into window smashers), but in order to practice this unconventional thinking and “Limbic System,” we need to purposely encounter different scenarios to exercise and train our minds.   Like Prof. Banerjee said, “If you sit in cubicles, your work will be like cubicles.”  We need to immerse ourselves in new situations — find new uses for old tools or make new tools from old ones, ask what is the right thing to do before doing the right thing, and understand what the population and stakeholders need.  We need to “uncover the questions that convention and mediocrity have obscured.”  The past is not enough of a guide for the future; we need to proactively create our future.