Page 24 - Troubleshooting Analog Circuits

The Computer Is Your Helper. . . and Friend . . . ???

IN
OUT -

SPEED
CONTROL
AT FINGERTIPS
1 1

* WIRES 1K
I

Figure I .4. By merely swapping two wires, the ESD pulse is now sent to ground and does no harm.

symptoms and try to figure out the solution. What is the natural temptation? To let a
computer do all the work! After all, a computer is quite good at listening to com-
plaints and symptoms, asking wise questions, and proposing a wise diagnosis. Such a
computer system is sometimes called an Expert System-part of the general field of
Artificial Intelligence. But, I am still in favor of genuine intelligence. Conversely,
people who rely on Artificial Intelligence are able to solve some kinds of problems,
but you can never be sure if they can accommodate every kind of Genuine Stupidity
as well as Artificial Stupidity. (That is the kind that is made up especially to prove
that Artificial Intelligence works just great.)
I won’t argue that the computer isn’t a natural for this job; it will probably be cost-
effective, and it won’t be absent-minded. But, I am definitely nervous because if
computers do all the routine work, soon there will be nobody left to do the thinking
when the computer gives up and admits it is stumped. I sure hope we don’t let the
computers leave the smart troubleshooting people without jobs, whether the object is
circuits or people.
My concern is shared by Dr. Nicholas Lembo, the author of a study on how physi-
cians make diagnoses, which was published in the New England Journal of

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