The Art of Doing Science and Engineering

The Art of Doing Science and Engineering: Learning to Learn

Author: Richard Hamming

Overview

Richard Hamming, one of the most influential mathematicians and computer scientists of the 20th century, distills decades of experience at Bell Labs into a guide for thinking about and doing great work. Based on his famous course at the Naval Postgraduate School, this book focuses on the art of learning, problem-solving, and making significant contributions to your field.

Key Highlights

On Doing Great Work

• Quality over quantity: Hamming argues that working on important problems is what separates good from great engineers
• The Hamming Question: “What are the important problems in your field, and why aren’t you working on them?”
• Open door policy metaphor: Keep your mind’s door open to new ideas, even if it means interruptions to current work

Learning to Learn

• Foundations matter: Deep understanding of fundamentals enables you to adapt to changing technologies
• Learn the art, not just the craft: Focus on principles that transcend specific tools or languages
• Compound learning: What you learn early multiplies over your career through compound interest

Problem-Solving Approaches

• Invert the problem: When stuck, try solving the opposite problem or reframe entirely
• Change the representation: Same problem in different notation often reveals solutions
• Simplify aggressively: Strip problems to their essence before adding complexity back

On Innovation and R&D

• Plant seeds early: Revolutionary ideas need years to germinate and gain acceptance
• Work at the systems level: Understanding how your component fits the larger system is crucial
• Bet on fundamentals: Temporary tools fade, but mathematical and theoretical foundations endure

Career and Leadership

• Sell your work: Great work that nobody knows about has no impact
• Build on the work of others: Standing on shoulders of giants is not weakness but wisdom
• Mentor through doing: Show by example rather than just telling

Key Ideas for Principal Engineers

1. The Vision Thing

Hamming emphasizes that senior engineers must develop vision - the ability to see where technology is heading and position their work accordingly. This requires:

• Reading widely beyond your immediate specialty
• Understanding trends in hardware, software, and social adoption
• Making calculated bets on future directions

2. The Importance of Style

Your personal style of work - how you approach problems, communicate, and collaborate - matters as much as technical skill at senior levels. Develop a style that:

• Amplifies your strengths
• Compensates for weaknesses
• Inspires others to do great work

3. Continuous Self-Education

Technology changes rapidly, but the principles of doing great work remain constant. Focus on:

• Meta-learning: Learning how to learn efficiently
• Pattern recognition: Seeing similarities across different domains
• Theoretical foundations: Mathematics, algorithms, systems thinking

4. Managing Your Career

• Work on important problems: Don’t get trapped in comfortable but insignificant work
• Build a reputation for reliability: Deliver on promises consistently
• Cultivate tolerance for ambiguity: Important problems are rarely well-defined

5. The Social Dimension

Technical excellence alone isn’t enough. Great engineers:

• Communicate effectively across organizational boundaries
• Build coalitions for important initiatives
• Navigate organizational politics without compromising integrity

Practical Takeaways

For Daily Practice:

• Start each day by asking: “Is what I’m working on today important?”
• When stuck, explicitly try 3 different problem representations
• Document your thinking process, not just your solutions

For Career Development:

• Identify the 3 most important problems in your domain and make progress on at least one
• Develop a personal theory of your field - what are the fundamental principles?
• Build a reputation by solving problems others have given up on

For Leading Teams:

• Create space for team members to work on important problems
• Teach problem-solving approaches, not just domain knowledge
• Celebrate elegant solutions and fundamental insights

Why This Book Matters

In an era of rapidly changing technologies and frameworks, Hamming’s wisdom provides an anchor. While your current tech stack will be obsolete in five years, the principles of:

• Choosing important problems
• Learning efficiently
• Thinking clearly
• Communicating effectively
• Making an impact

…remain timeless. For Principal Engineers balancing technical depth with strategic thinking, this book offers a framework for sustained excellence across a career.

Best Quote

“In science if you know what you are doing you should not be doing it. In engineering if you do not know what you are doing you should not be doing it.”

This captures the essential difference: engineers must deliver reliability, but should constantly push toward the unknown to avoid stagnation.