Darcy's Fables

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Here is a picture of me reading to my newest grandchild. All my grandchildren love to be read to, and one of their most favorite books is Piping System Fundamentals, which I co-wrote with Jeff Sines of Engineered Software. They like the ease at which the book explains difficult concepts of piping systems along with the compelling graphics. 

As you can see from the picture he has a question about NPSH. It seemed his older sisters told him that NPSH stands for “Not Pumping So Hot” so he wanted to have me set him straight. I told him to watch out because older sisters like to tease younger brothers.

All my grandchildren enjoy the stories in Piping System Fundamentals, but sometimes the topics are a little difficult to understand. As a result I often change the story by making it into a fable.*  Aesop was the master of fables in western cultures, and I still remember my mother reading them to me growing up. 

So I thought I would create some of my own fables to tell to my grandchildren. I decided to call them Darcy's Fables in honor of Henry Darcy, the Frenchman that help develop the equation for calculating head loss due to friction in a pipeline.   

So here is my first Darcy's fable called:

The Wise Cat in the Tree of Knowledge.

Long ago, there was a village built around a Tree of Knowledge. People would come from all over the land each bringing their unique customs and languages to this wonderful village. The people of this village would all sit under the Tree of Knowledge, work together and come up with ideas for wonderful things that everyone wanted. Each clan had their unique powers, there were the Sparks with their electric personality, the Newtonians, possessing an understanding of all things mechanical, and the Chemists, using their knowledge to make the most amazing things from the most basic of elements.

After many years, each group got so involved with what their clan was doing they developed their own "secret" language that could only be understood by their fellow clan members. Since each clan used their own "secret" language it became difficult to exchange ideas at the Tree of Knowledge. Each clan continued to work to develop the most amazing things, but since each group thought they knew the answer, they stopped listening to each other.

One day a young page boy was walking by the Tree of Knowledge and spied a wise cat sitting on a branch. Our young page climbed up into the tree and started petting the cat. The cat enjoyed the attention and started purring as all cats do.

After a good scratch, the cat said to the youngster, "Because you are so kind and took the time to pet me I, will grant you the power to explain."

The young page said, "I don't understand!"

The Wise Cat rose and started to walk away saying, "In time, you will understand. Come back tomorrow and I shall let you pet me again."

The young page came back to the Tree of Knowledge every day to pet the Wise Cat. Every day he would listen to each clan as they discuss their ideas and talked about their problems at the Tree of Knowledge. (In this magical land, yes, they continue to solve problems, and don't have issues!) While the young page pet the cat he would listen to each clan, and after many days, he started understanding each clans’ "secret" language. The young page discovered that each clan was interested in the same thing, but since they didn't understand each other’s "secret" languages, they were unable to explain themselves or work together. 

Then the young page had an idea, if I can cast everyone's problems into a language that everyone can understand, then all the different clans’ members can work together to solve common problems. The boy grew very excited.

“They just need to speak the same language!” he exclaimed.

Instead of creating a new language, our young page decided it would be best to use ideas that were common to all. He chose to explain the various items in terms they already understood, the local form of money, the “Want.” (Because everyone wants something.)  Everyone was paid for the work they did, the things they needed, and saved for a rainy day using the local currency of the Want. By explaining using money, all the members of each clan could understand the common solution using a customary unit that everyone understood. 

As a result of the young page’s gift, the “power to explain,” the clans could come to the Tree of Knowledge and have a place to present their ideas in a common language all could understand. The village continued to grow and all was prosperous and well.

The moral: If you want others to understand your ideas, use a common language that can be understood by all.

*A fable is a short story featuring animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects and forces of nature to illustrates a point, lesson, or moral which is often explicitly stated at the end.  (I specifically chose the fable here instead of a parable form of prose, because the parable excludes animals, and all kids love those funny little critters.)

Tell me about your favorite fables or stories from your childhood. Leave a comment below or send an email to blogger@eng-software dot com. Thanks for reading!