I'm writing this as I watch a new show on TV. It's like the original Japanese TV battles of chefs, but with a twist... this time it's factories and engineers in battles of wits against each other in prime time with dramatic entrances, imposing face-offs and supporting employees cheering their teams to beat the brains out of rival engineers.
This is great! What a country!
They have an exotic materials company pitted against high-tech drill companies. Who will win? Can the drill companies (specialists for different high-tech industries) drill through materials designed by a new venture company?
There are announcers and guest engineers to explain the processes and materials of all the teams, in addition to their thinking. Every company has failed so far to drill through the material, which is about the size of a hockey puck.
The final drilling company has seen the videos of the previous tests and claimed that they can do it. They're confident. They designed and manufactured an exotic new drill bit and a special lubrication bath during the process.
The materials guy enters the factory and takes a long walk down an aisle lined with about 50 employees of the drill company. He looks intimidated. He opens his briefcase and takes out the material. In the other bouts, the material was heavy. The drill engineer looks shocked because the material this time is very light, almost like plastic, as he takes it and carefully places it in the jig.
Commercials.
More dramatic music and staring. The employees are all staring intensely. The drilling begins! Music! Cheering! Massive flooding of the jig as the special circular bit made from exotic, rare-earth materials spins, spins, spins!
Ahhh! It's stopped! The drill has broken! The materials company has won the final bout and the drill company engineering manager looks like he's about to commit ritual suicide.
After 20 years of living in Japan, I'm still amazed at some of the stuff I get to see... for free.
