 One of the challenges for using science to solve real problems is elimination of variables. Science tends to try to understand and plan for each detail that materially affects a solution and then plan for how it is to be handled. Phyllis is a youngster who has just started learning to ride a bike. She has managed to stay upright and travel in a wobbly line along the sidewalk, but it finds that she doesn't really know how to turn the corner at the end of the block. She does know how to use the brakes and stops before she rides into traffic, but the bike immediately falls over when it stops. Science might address her problem in terms of knowing just how she has to turn the wheel to make it around the corner and just how much she has to lean into the direction of the turn to both support the turn and the redirection of her motion. This isn't how Phyllis will solve her problem. She will turn the bike in the desired direction and lean a little. If she needs to turn a little more or less, she will react and deal with it. If she starts to get out of balance, she will lean in the direction she has to in order to remain upright. After doing this a number of times, getting better with each pass, she will have learned how to do it and will learn to have some confidence in her ability to react to her situation's immediate needs. As humans, we are amazingly sensitive creatures who can not only sense our environment, redefining the needs we serve as we progress, but reacting to those changing needs with positive action that address any challenges as they arise. As soon as we add an active and reactive human to the challenges of our environment, it usually becomes too complex for scientific definition. Phyllis can even solve her balance problem by simply shifting the way she is sitting and not even have to lean. We are active problem solvers without even the benefit of science. Science becomes an add-on, increasing our knowledge more than becoming how we determine what to do. It is science that provides the information to design a wheel, and it is science that guides the one who designs the bike to have an effective size for the wheel and crank to give a good working force for the rider to keep the bike moving. It is science that guides the engineer in designing a frame for the bike that will not only maintain it as written, but will still survive some abuse without losing its function. The science we learn has great value in solving technical challenges, but we have different needs when we put the rider onto the bike to use it to the rider's purpose. It is then that the wonderful reaction and problem solving of the person becomes part of the solution. Almost every adult knows how to drive a car, but the science that operates such a vehicle is not even helpful. Consider the simple carburetor that is necessary to mix the fuel with air and the Bernoulli principle that makes this possible. What the driver has to know is input and output. If the driver pushes on the gas pedal, there is an additional power delivered to the wheels. With performance thinking, we can lock the rest of the process knowledge away in a black box. I clearly remember when my young son first discovered the light switch. He knew nothing about electricity, nothing about incandescence, and had only a vague understanding of the existence of the light bulb. What he discovered was that when he moved the switch up, the light came on, and when he moved it back, the light went out. His challenge was learning to gain control of his environment, and this was a big step in that direction. He was becoming effective. He spent quite a time just gloring in this, and we understood how important it was to him. In time, he went on to other things, but every now and again he would test his knowledge. He had his input, his finger on the switch, he had the output, the light came on or off. The rest might as well have been hidden away in a black box. And so it is with education as well. There are values that we can see, and we have reason, or at least hope, that they will still represent value when we are adults. We have potentials to which we will apply our time and effort, expecting the value we see to become real for us when we become adults. These are the efforts that students put forth into becoming educated adults, and it is an intelligent investment. Science provides a good means for understanding. It can provide a whole different basis for taking action to design or improve on lighting or to impact on its effects and discover new applications. The engineering is more practical for day-to-day uses, more useful to people who have to achieve darkness or light to do things. As my son learned, all it takes is a finger on the switch. Education is interactive. You are a large part of the educational process, and your commitment of time and effort to gaining the benefits is not subject to scientific analysis. There are just few principles, and they guide you in being effective.