American Scientist

To the Editors:

I read your special issue on convergence science (July–August), and what came to mind was troubleshooting. Troubleshooters are people—technical or otherwise—who are brought in to fix problems. They are driven to find solutions, working simultaneously on both the science and human relationship levels, and they bring many years of experience to the table.

As an example, I recently served on the COVID-19 council at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. There were five people on the council, including a doctor, a nurse, and two specialists working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At first, we were bogged down with data overload. Although I have not been medically trained, I took on the task of simplifying the objective so we could quickly make decisions as virus data changed.

Our criteria were the three Ds: duration, droplets, and distance. The initial fix was shorter services, masks, improved airflow, and spacing out folks, which involved limiting attendance. As COVID-19 data changed, we adjusted parameters to fit the circumstances, and now masks are optional. Each member of our council applied their expertise to the problem so that we could have the best possible solutions.

A possible case in which convergence could have helped is David Kent and David Thaler’s 2015 article on plaque formation downstream of divergent arteries and veins (“When the Cause of Stroke Is Cryptic,” January–February 2015). In the engineering trade, we call these branches Y fittings. The authors’ research would have benefited from an engineering perspective on eddy currents, reverse flows, and other well-known flow phenomena.

I hope the special issue stimulates more collaborative efforts to fix vexing problems.

Thomas F. McGowan
Atlanta, GA