Michael Jackson and the HFC debate

Do you enjoy music? Perhaps you have a favourite Michael Jackson song or may be you prefer classical music, perhaps even a symphony? Recent studies has shown that music stimulates brain function on the right-side of your brain, which is also the same side that enhances ones ability to solve logical and mathematical problems. However, while studies show a connection between musical inclination and the part of the brain that processes logical thoughts, there is still no concrete explanation for why so many engineers share an interest and some even a passion for making music.

Perhaps it is because both pursuits require a mix of technical prowess and creativity. In both engineering and music, there is a technical framework from which one needs a creative element to solve the problems and to interpret.

Or may be it is because, as engineers, we can relate to the progression that music has. Engineering is all about progress. We understand and seek progress. We appreciate the flow. All the great names in the history of engineering have been pioneers who have pushed boundaries forward. Michael Jackson, one of the biggest pop icons in modern history, who died recently, pushed the barriers in music during his peak years in the 80’s, especially in music performance on video and his influence will continue for a long while.

In music, when we hear a nice tune, we don’t hold onto a couple of notes. We let them pass, let them flow. The whole enjoyment of a good piece of music lies in our readiness to allow the notes to flow and pass. If a few notes in a piece of music took our fancy, we don’t shout up to the performer “Keep playing it, again and again,” it wouldn’t be music any more.

Are you familiar with those tales of Nasreddin, the old wise man? Sometimes the spelling of his name is different so you may have heard of him by another name. He’s a legendary figure who the Greeks, Turks and Persians all claim for themselves. He would give his philosophical teachings in the form of stories, generally funny ones, and the butt of the story was always old Nasreddin himself.

One day Nasreddin was strumming a guitar in the market place, playing just one note. After a while a crowd collected around him and one of the men sitting on the ground there said, “That’s a nice note that you’re playing , Mullah (a name for a wise man) but why don’t you vary it a bit the way other musicians do?” “Those fools,” Nasreddin said, “they’re searching for the right note but I’ve already found it!”

Ha-ha, old Nasreddin sounds just like some of the players in the current HFC debate; stuck in a grove. They seem unable to appreciate the wider implications and greater possibilities of the comments they are making or opinions they are expressing. The longer the industry clings to HFCs, the more like Nasreddin we will appear. HFCs play the part in the refrigerant symphony that is unfolding before us. Let’s appreciate them for what they are, and then, progress. We need to encourage and embrace change. Any musician will tell you that playing the same note for too long, without variation, will bring a premature end to even the best of performances.

(see: http://www.acr-news.com/blog/blog.asp?author=14)