The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like A Rocket Scientist

The Seven Secrets of How to Think Like A Rocket Scientist

This is a book for the armchair thinker. There are no equations, no syllogisms, and no exercises with the solutions at the back of the book. It is written not for rocket scientists (although they might enjoy it, too) but for the non–rocket scientist. Before I wrote this book, I asked a number of people what they hoped to fi nd in a book about how to think like a rocket scientist. “Do you want to know what rocket scientists actually think about and have it translated into ordinary language?” I asked, and everyone said, “No.” “Then would you prefer to know the methods that rocket scientists use—not the content—expressed in a way that you could apply to your everyday life?” And then everyone said, “Yes.” The book you are holding does just that. (Mostly.) Let me tell you the first secret about rocket scientists. They are not in it for the money. They are in it for the fun. They are the biggest dreamers on Earth because they dream on a cosmic scale. And they love sci-fi books and movies. Sometimes, the dopier the movie, the better they like it. That’s why I start Part I with “Dream.” Dreaming about space travel is what makes rocket scientists tick. I end with Part VII, “Do,” because the best part about rocket science is when those dreams come true. I give seven secrets of how to think like a rocket scientist as active verbs: “Dream,” “Judge,” “Ask,” “Check,” “Simplify,” “Optimize,” and “Do.”