Bill Hammack, The Engineering Guy and author "The Things We Make"
Your World of Creativity
Mark Stinson
5.0 • 45 Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2023
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of "Unlocking Your World of Creativity," host Mark interviews Bill Hammack, the author of "The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention, From Cathedrals to Soda Cans."
Book: https://www.amazon.com/Things-We-Make-Invention-Cathedrals/dp/1728215757
Bill, known as the "Engineering Guy," shares insights on engineering and ingenuity, reflecting on his own journey from radio to YouTube fame. Here are five key topics and quotes from Bill Hammack in the interview:
1. **Engineering and Creativity:** Bill discusses how engineering has become an internet sensation through platforms like YouTube. He emphasizes the importance of creativity in engineering and how it's not just about the technical aspects but also storytelling.
> "That is at the heart of your podcast. We're talking about creating things. But there's a way in which at the beginning we were a little bit alone in doing it."
2. **Iterative Process:** Bill explains how he adopts an iterative approach to his creative work, emphasizing the importance of structure and crafting the narrative in his videos.
> "And that's where I spend most of my effort, is what is the order of the information going to do, to, to, what's going to happen with it?"
3. **Collaboration in Invention:** Bill delves into the collaborative nature of invention and how even famous inventors like Edison worked with teams and collaborators. He highlights the importance of acknowledging the collective effort behind inventions.
> "By not looking at it as a system of people that do it, we actually lose the engineering and we lose sight of it."
4. **Creativity as Problem-Solving:** Bill explains that engineering is fundamentally about solving problems before science has all the answers. Engineers use trial and error, rules of thumb, and creative thinking to innovate and make things work.
> "And this is something that I do find upsets people; it is its own method and it uses trial and error."
5. **Embracing Imperfections:** Bill shares the value of embracing imperfections and the idea that every creative work will have its defects. He encourages creators to let go and focus on the beauty within their creations.
> "Let go. Look, everything I've made has defects in it. You're not going to get perfection, and you just have to let it go."
Bill Hammack's insights highlight the intersection of engineering, creativity, and storytelling, offering valuable lessons for creators and innovators in various fields.
Copyright 2026 Mark Stinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's Mark Sensen. I'd like to tell you about a new sponsor who's unlocking creativity |
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| 0:12.2 | listen to premium audio dramas like romance, thriller, and horror. I was just listening to Dracula |
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| 0:25.0 | listeners a 10% discount when you use this code to subscribe. Mark Creativity 10. So, go to |
| 0:32.0 | Headphone.page.link slash Mark Creativity 10. I'll put that link in the show notes. And thanks |
| 0:39.4 | again to the folks at Headphone for their support of the podcast. |
| 0:43.3 | Happy to your most original thinking. Organize your ideas and create the opportunities to launch |
| 0:55.1 | your creative work. Unlocking your world of creativity with best-selling author and brand |
| 1:02.2 | innovator, Mark Sensen. Welcome back friends to our podcast Unlocking Your World of Creativity. |
| 1:11.2 | And Creativity spans the gamut of engineering and ingenuity. And I'm so glad today to talk to a |
| 1:18.2 | guest who has written about that, studied that, and developed a whole way of telling stories |
| 1:25.1 | about ingenuity and the engineering behind things that we make. And that's the title of his book, |
| 1:30.6 | Bill Hammock. Welcome to the show. Mark, thank you. I'm happy to be here. Here's the author of a |
| 1:36.2 | new book called The Things We Make, the Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda |
| 1:42.4 | Canes. Bill, I knew I was going to be talking to the engineering guy, a great handle that you've |
| 1:48.2 | developed for yourself. And an author of this book, I did not know I would be speaking with such a |
| 1:53.5 | YouTube star. How do you think engineering became the internet sensation that it's become for you? |
| 2:01.2 | I wish I had an answer to that. That is at the heart of your podcast. I'm talking about creating |
| 2:07.1 | things. But there's a way in which at the beginning we were a little bit alone in doing it. |
| 2:13.1 | And I think also it's partly that one of the hallmarks of new media, if you aggregate an audience |
| 2:18.6 | now around the world that's interested in a subject that, you know, only in the US or only in the UK |
... |
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