Letter to an Engineer
A Tale About Changing the World
My dear friend, I firmly believe the content of this letter can change your life.
I still remember those days when we were young and skipped many parties. We read endlessly, we loved learning, but we were very lonely. The road to becoming an engineer is tough…
You prefer not to talk about it, but I know you wrestle with imposter syndrome, burnout, and stress.
But deep down, what bothers you the most is knowing that you haven't reached your full potential—the strong feeling that you're meant for something extraordinary.
You feel terrible because you’re not solving humanity’s most important challenges.
I’m writing to you because I’ve found a solution to that. But first I need to tell you a story.
There was a time when people used horses to move commodities through railways.
This story starts with an English boy named Richard Trevithick.
One of his schoolmasters described him as “a disobedient, slow, obstinate, spoiled boy”. Except for arithmetic, for which he had an aptitude.
As a child, he would watch steam engines pump water from the deep tin and copper mines in Cornwall.
Several years later, while working as an engineer in a mine, he started building and modifying steam engines to harness the potential of high pressure.
These engines were originally designed by James Watt, the man who developed the concept of horsepower. Watt thought high pressure was too dangerous to harness (and threatening to his business).
Trevithick deserves hanging for bringing into use the high-pressure engine.
James Watt
Trevithick continued working with these engines and realized that he could put them on wheels, creating the first models of locomotives:
However, their models were too heavy for the rails and most of them ended up converted to stationary engines for factories.
In a desperate effort to capitalize on this technology, Richard had the crazy idea of creating a circus in London for the general public.
In 1808, Trevithick showcased a full-sized steam-powered locomotive, called the “Catch Me Who Can,” in London as part of an exhibition. He built a circular railway track at Euston Square and invited the public to pay for rides on the steam-powered train, essentially creating an early form of a steam-powered amusement ride, which he dubbed the “Steam Circus”.
Unfortunately, the Steam Circus failed. After a few weeks of operation, the locomotive's weight caused the rails to break, and the exhibition had to be shut down. Trevithick was unable to secure financial backing for further development, marking another setback in his efforts to popularize steam locomotion.
At the same time, another Englishman named George Stephenson would work on the same problem.
George was born to two illiterate parents, growing up in a world where survival often meant sacrifice. From the age of 8, he had no choice but to work, and his life began in the gritty mines. It was there, in the depths of the coal pits, that he became an “engine man”. But George was not just any worker; he was obsessed with engines. The hum of machinery sparked something deep within him, a curiosity that would shape his destiny.
At 18, George used his hard-earned wages to learn to read. Soon after, he took classes in arithmetic, a skill that would become crucial in his work. But life wasn’t easy. One day, his father was gravely injured when a steam engine exploded in his face, leaving him blind.
Determined to make a difference, he designed a safety lamp to protect miners from the dangers of explosive gases underground. But that was just the beginning. Inspired by the pioneering Salamanca locomotive, George set out to design his own locomotives. And with every new design, he inched closer to revolutionizing transportation forever.
Stephenson reengineered the railway to adapt it to the weight of the locomotive and built the Hetton Colliery Railway. The Hetton was the first railway designed from the start to be operated without animal power.
In 1830 he designed and built the first inter-city railway in the world between Liverpool and Manchester.
Some years later, he became the first president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on its formation in 1847.
While both were pioneers of the locomotive industry, Richard Trevithick finished his life penniless while George Stephenson became a wealthy and recognized individual.
Trevithick’s early locomotives were technically impressive but suffered from practical issues. For example, his 1804 locomotive, while powerful, was too heavy for the cast-iron rails, which often broke under its weight. Trevithick was more of a visionary inventor who focused on theoretical advancements, but his inventions sometimes lacked the fine-tuning necessary for commercial viability.
How is this story related to your career? You may ask.
I wanted you to remember that your work is not about you, you’re doing it for humanity.
If you feel uninspired or don’t know what to prioritize, remembering that you’re doing it for the betterment of humanity is the key to continuing.
The key to the success of George Stephenson is that he filled all the holes, and solved all of the engineering problems FOR THE PEOPLE to use the locomotives, he was people-centered.
Most people don’t know this, but when ChatGPT was launched, in 2022, their models were publicly available for over 3 years, the only difference, the thing launched OpenAI to create the fastest growing product on the Internet, is instead of an API, they released it as a chat, just a change in interface made it available for everyone and changed history.
My fellow engine man, and engine woman, I urge you to continue falling in love with your craft, but remember to also focus on the lives you’re going to change.
If not someone smart like you to change the world, who?
I have been branded with folly and madness for attempting what the world calls impossibilities, and even from the great engineer, the late James Watt, who said … that I deserved hanging for bringing into use the high-pressure engine. This has so far been my reward from the public; but should this be all, I shall be satisfied by the great secret pleasure and laudable pride that I feel in my own breast from having been the instrument of bringing forward new principles and new arrangements of boundless value to my country, and however much I may be straitened in pecuniary circumstances, the great honour of being a useful subject can never be taken from me, which far exceeds riches.
Richard Trevithick
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