Shifting to Frequency Domain, and Scientific Mindset

[Ahmed Abdellah]

We all saw how useful (and amazing) is to shift our point of view of signals from time domain to frequency domain. I wonder how such breakthroughs come to scientist’s mind. I mean, when is the point that a scientist says “Okay, buckle up, we will stop using the way we used to look at this problem. From now on, we are going to use a totally different representation” ?

[Simon]

That’s a philosophical question, to which I have no answer. But I do have an engineer’s answer:

We have a toolbox. Our tools are techniques like short-term analysis, the Fourier transform, IIR filters, etc.

In any toolbox, there are usually several tools that could do the job. You could hit a nail with a spanner, but you’d be a bad engineer and the nail probably would not go in straight!

Being a good engineer usually means selecting the best tool for the job at hand, and having the skill to use it correctly. Almost all the time we select a reliable, tried-and-tested tool. One that we (and many other engineers before us) have used before, and that we understand. It will have limitations, but we know what they are and can live with them.

Very rarely, none of our tools will do the job, and so we need to invent a new tool.

[Author]

Posts