It’s really amazing how we grow up in this country with non verbally communicated mental limits to our potential and capacity. The current excitement around Cédric Simen’s car is similar to what I had some twenty something years ago when I walked out of the gate of my house to find the guy who owned the grinding mill opposite my house flying a plane whose body he had made out of an old sheet of roofing zinc. I was very young at the time so some details must have skipped my memory. What I know for sure is that the device could fly but I do not know anything about what went into making the engine, how long it could fly, and how it was controlled -Just like I still have many unanswered questions about Cédric’s car.
For many, that is not quite straightforward of an answer. After seeing Cédric’s car, recalling the story of my childhood neighbor’s plane, and analyzing the discussions that surround such moments in our society, I begin to understand more the importance of rhetoric in the sociocultural construction of a society. I don’t know how as a kid, I saw that neighbor of mine make a plane out of zinc, a plane that could fly and my excitement was only to the extent of “that’s kind of cool.” I cannot believe my excitement about the plane did not lead me to asking more about it and exploring what extrapolation said of the applications of it’s maker’s skills. I cannot understand how I could hold in my mind that that is not an everyday feat and at the same time hold that there wasn’t much more to make of it.
During youth day celebrations, Cédric was given a certificate of recognition for his concept car which the region’s governor and former Indomitable Lions captain Rigobert Song had the joy of test driving for 5 meters. The question is what will happen next? Is that pat on the back what is going to fuel the future of our engineering needs? What are we really celebrating?
My university roommate built his own car 3 years ago so excuse me if I am not overly amazed by Cédric’s car. Again, the discussion around the subject paints the picture that the end goal is to get recognition from the government and people. With that in mind, I won’t be surprised if Cédric disappears after his fifteen minutes and never returns and I say this with good reason.
If our society was one in which the people in leadership were even a little conscious of what nation building is, we would have been having a whole different conversation about Cédric’s concept car. We are all so excited that the thing has four wheels and runs but I haven’t heard anyone ask the real questions. I said previously that my fears were with good reason and that is because from my research, even Cédric himself is not thinking of applications and scaling of his skills. Now I don’t expect him to know how to deal with what he has on his laps and it is for that reason that other countries that know how to recognize intrinsic value in things have systems that can direct energies such as Cédric’s.
When I have heard people talk concept cars, I hear things like:-
- Cost - Materials - Engine Type - Type of fuel - Top speed and performance - Practicality - Etc.
In all the discussions I have seen around Cédric’s car, there is nothing that is being said to make you think people are actually interested in the value proposition of his skill. It almost seems sometimes like we deliberately celebrate more, the things we think won’t affect the status quo. Something tells me if Cédric’s innovation was one that we believed could disrupt markets, it won’t even be talked about.
Any-Ha!
Will Cédric be making cars that are safe for the road, affordable, and efficient anytime soon, I doubt. Can his engineering skills be of any use around here, DEFINITELY. But all that has to start by us having the right conversations around his work. One of the reasons I started PoiseSocial is to create an atmosphere where we see the importance of asking the right questions. As we grow, the hope is to get enough resources to be able to help ask the right questions.
Are you asking the right questions about the things happening around you?
- Tino Foy.