--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the judgment of design engineers, the…" description: "\"In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely inadequate. [...] Graphical communication in some..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png" --- # In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of… ![“In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely inadequate. [...] Graphical communication in some form or other is of vital importance in engineering as that subject is now conducted; we must either provide the capability in our computer…” quote by Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png) > “In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely inadequate. \[...\] Graphical communication in some form or other is of vital importance in engineering as that subject is now conducted; we must either provide the capability in our computer systems, or take on the impossible task of training up a future race of engineers conditioned to think in a different way.” [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Design engineers find current computer interfaces insufficient, urging graphical communication to become essential in engineering education and practice. **In simple terms:** Engineers need better visual tools to interact with computers. Key Takeaway Adopt graphical interfaces for engineering work. Themes engineering communication technology education Mood critical forward‑looking Type lecture persuasive When to use this quote - software development - CAD training - engineering curricula - collaborative design Key Concepts human‑computer interaction visualization design methodology Questions to Reflect On - What visual tools could improve your engineering tasks? - How can education adapt to new interaction paradigms? A Different Perspective Transition to graphical tools requires significant training and resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capability/) [Communicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicate/) [Communicating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicating/) [Communicating Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communicating-computer-2391465/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Computer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer/) [Computer systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computer-systems/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Design Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design-engineers-1405147/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-ways/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Graphical Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphical-communication-2391463/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Importance Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance-engineering-2391464/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Inadequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [A reason to have computers understand natural language is that it's an extremely effective way of communicating. What I came to realize is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-winograd/a-reason-to-have-computers-understand-natural-language-is-that-it-s/) [Terry Winograd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-winograd/) > [We forget the importance of engineering, but it's been used to design everything from St. Paul's Cathedral to The Shard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-strawbridge/we-forget-the-importance-of-engineering-but-it-s-been-used-to-design/) [Dick Strawbridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-strawbridge/) > [Don't bring on the design engineers too soon. One of the worst things you can do in the early phases of a project is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-pittman/don-t-bring-on-the-design-engineers-too-soon-one-of-the-worst-things/) [Bruce Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-pittman/) > [Now scarcely a week goes by without a news story about the cops swooping down on some adolescent prowler who is as skilled at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/now-scarcely-a-week-goes-by-without-a-news-story-about-the-cops/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [The inside of a computer is as dumb as hell but it goes like mad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-inside-of-a-computer-is-as-dumb-as-hell-but-it-goes-like-mad/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Today, no one would dispute that information technology has become the backbone of commerce. It underpins the operations of individual companies, ties together far-flung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/today-no-one-would-dispute-that-information-technology-has-become-the/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [Taxpayers have spent more than $200 billion in the last decade on computer systems that are antiquated, incompatible, and not doing the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cohen/taxpayers-have-spent-more-than-200-billion-in-the-last-decade-on/) [William Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cohen/) > [Think of the soul as the computer system that runs the whole thing. And then the spirit is the executive center. It's the faculty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/think-of-the-soul-as-the-computer-system-that-runs-the-whole-thing/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [ The best way to prepare \[to be a programmer\] is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. In… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-best-way-to-prepare-to-be-a-programmer-is-to-write-programs-and/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The main motivations were to try to leverage Google's expertise with large computer systems and to try to give something back to science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wojcicki/the-main-motivations-were-to-try-to-leverage-google-s-expertise-with/) [Susan Wojcicki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wojcicki/) > [When I use a direct manipulation system whether for text editing, drawing pictures, or creating and playing games I do think of myself not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-a-norman/when-i-use-a-direct-manipulation-system-whether-for-text-editing/) [Donald A. Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-a-norman/) > [In engineering, as in other creative arts, we must learn to do analysis to support our efforts in synthesis. One cannot build a beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-jay-sussman/in-engineering-as-in-other-creative-arts-we-must-learn-to-do-analysis/) [Gerald Jay Sussman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-jay-sussman/) > [When I was in prison, a Colombian drug lord, offered me $5 million in cash to manipulate a computer system so that he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/when-i-was-in-prison-a-colombian-drug-lord-offered-me-5-million-in/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) > [Computer system analysis is like child-rearing; you can do grievous damage, but you cannot ensure success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-demarco/computer-system-analysis-is-like-child-rearing-you-can-do-grievous/) [Tom DeMarco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-demarco/) > [Companies spend millions of dollars on firewalls and secure access devices, and it's money wasted because none of these measures address the weakest link…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mitnick/companies-spend-millions-of-dollars-on-firewalls-and-secure-access/) [Kevin Mitnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mitnick/) ## More by Maurice Wilkes > [As soon as we started programming, we found to our surprise that it wasn't as easy to get programs right as we had thought.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/as-soon-as-we-started-programming-we-found-to-our-surprise-that-it/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [A source of strength in the early days was that groups in various parts of the world were prepared to construct experimental computers without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/a-source-of-strength-in-the-early-days-was-that-groups-in-various/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [The artificial intelligence approach may not be altogether the right one to make to the problem of designing automatic assembly devices. Animals and machines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/the-artificial-intelligence-approach-may-not-be-altogether-the-right/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [Surveying the shifts of interest among computer scientists and the ever-expanding family of those who depend on computers for their work, one cannot help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/surveying-the-shifts-of-interest-among-computer-scientists-and-the/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [Professor Wilkes is best known as the builder and designer of the EDSAC, the first computer with an internally stored program. Built in 1949,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/professor-wilkes-is-best-known-as-the-builder-and-designer-of-the/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [I realized that a large part of my life from then on was going to be spent in finding mistakes in my own programs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/i-realized-that-a-large-part-of-my-life-from-then-on-was-going-to-be/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) > [Much of the early engineering development of digital computers was done in universities. A few years ago, the view was commonly expressed that universities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/much-of-the-early-engineering-development-of-digital-computers-was/) [Maurice Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) [Explore all 8 Maurice Wilkes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/) ## More Capability quotes > [Capability is just a concept of what is it we're looking at. Now how far we can go along that and what new capabilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/capability-is-just-a-concept-of-what-is-it-we-re-looking-at-now-how/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We artists give daily thanks for the miracle of our planet and for the inclination and the capability to honour it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-genn/we-artists-give-daily-thanks-for-the-miracle-of-our-planet-and-for/) [Robert Genn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-genn/) > [Few men realize that their life, the very essence of their character, their capabilities and their audacities, are only the expression of their belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/few-men-realize-that-their-life-the-very-essence-of-their-character/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [One of the capabilities, which seems to be the most difficult for aspiring leaders to maste is realistic optimism. It requires one to recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-menkes/one-of-the-capabilities-which-seems-to-be-the-most-difficult-for/) [Justin Menkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-menkes/) > [You have the capability to change your life all with a simple shift in perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/you-have-the-capability-to-change-your-life-all-with-a-simple-shift/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [If you are facing a new challenge or being asked to do something that you have never done before don’t be afraid to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/if-you-are-facing-a-new-challenge-or-being-asked-to-do-something-that/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Clearly, if wed had the kind of computer graphics capability then that we have now, the Star Gate sequence would be much more complex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-trumbull/clearly-if-wed-had-the-kind-of-computer-graphics-capability-then-that/) [Douglas Trumbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-trumbull/) > [We've learned that we've allowed technological capabilities to dictate policies and practices, rather than ensuring that our laws and values guide our technological capabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-ve-learned-that-we-ve-allowed-technological-capabilities-to/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I'm just confident in myself and my capability to be able to play this position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-bridgewater/i-m-just-confident-in-myself-and-my-capability-to-be-able-to-play/) [Teddy Bridgewater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-bridgewater/) > [Primarily affecting low-information voters and members of the mainstream media, Obama Worship Syndrome attributes impossible capabilities to Obama's political opponents, finds excuses for every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/primarily-affecting-low-information-voters-and-members-of-the/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [The Iranians know that if they develop nuclear weapons, they will be in tremendous jeopardy from military capabilities of their neighbors and of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-nunn/the-iranians-know-that-if-they-develop-nuclear-weapons-they-will-be/) [Sam Nunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-nunn/) > [I have proved my capability to everyone - my fans and critics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arshad-warsi/i-have-proved-my-capability-to-everyone-my-fans-and-critics/) [Arshad Warsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arshad-warsi/) > [I will then ask for a plan to immediately protect those vulnerabilities and then fix them.At the same time, we will invest heavily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-will-then-ask-for-a-plan-to-immediately-protect-those/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I've seen people recover physical abilities, yet never get over emotional trauma after a serious accident. I've seen other people overcome the psychological and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/i-ve-seen-people-recover-physical-abilities-yet-never-get-over/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) [Browse all 801 Capability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely inadequate. [...] Graphical communication in some form or other is of vital importance in engineering as that subject is now conducted; we must either provide the capability in our computer systems, or take on the impossible task of training up a future race of engineers conditioned to think in a different way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Wilkes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the-ordinary-means-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the-ordinary-means-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/maurice-wilkes-46458_capability_in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the_237746.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the judgment of design engineers, the ordinary means of communicating with a computer are entirely…” — Maurice Wilkes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maurice Wilkes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-wilkes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In the judgment of design engineers,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the-ordinary-means-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-wilkes/in-the-judgment-of-design-engineers-the-ordinary-means-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```