The 5 best movies for Systems Engineers
SE-Trends is always published on Thursdays, and this Thursday is a public holiday. Reason enough to have some fun. Here's a completely subjective selection of movies that system engineers might enjoy - and why.
Apollo 13
ActionA film adaptation of the Apollo 13 moon mission, in which the crew was successfully brought back to Earth despite a critical malfunction.
Justification: When this film was released in 1995, I was a student at M.I.T., where it was celebrated as an outstanding example of successful project and crisis management. The film shows in an impressive way how good systems engineering makes it possible to examine the behavior of the damaged system and to restore the critical system functions with creativity.
Opinion: Absolutely worth seeing, one of the best movies for engineers I know!
A Beautiful Mind
Action: The life story of John Nash, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on game theory.
Justification: Game theory is about the participants influencing each other when making a decision. This is a good example that shows that even simple systems can exhibit complex behavior.
Opinion: As is so often the case, it's the people who count. The human side of the film is at least as exciting as the technical side.
The Martian - Save Mark Watney
ActionAn astronaut is accidentally left behind on the moon and manages to survive there for 564 days and return safely to Earth.
ReasonA film full of loosely coupled systems, from the potato growing cycle to the complex orbital system that is manipulated to perform a swing-by maneuver.
OpinionGreat movie, although I liked the book even better.
Modern times
Action: A tramp tries to survive in a world characterized by assembly lines and unemployment.
Justification: This classic film by and starring Charlie Chaplin shows people as interchangeable system components.
OpinionThis movie shows that not everything was better in the past. And also that we can use our Humanity must not forget.
The Day After Tomorrow
ActionSeveral weather disasters triggered by climate change lead to permanent changes in the Earth's weather system
ReasonThe climate is not only one of the largest and most complex systems, but also one that affects us directly.
OpinionHollywood blockbuster or not, and even if the movie is full of clichés, the underlying message is more important today than ever.
What is your favorite movie for Systems Engineers? Please contribute in the comments section!
Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash
