In the energy sector, there is more and more complex computer software for calculating equipment, various network operating modes and transients. On the one hand, this is good, but on the other hand, it personally causes me some fear. I will try to clarify my thoughts.

Many of the software methods give the impression of being very accurate. However, this does not mean that we get a really accurate result. Why? Because:
1️⃣ No guarantee that the developer of the algorithm (and the programmer) didn’t make any mistake. It is no coincidence that each software has many different updates, and each subsequent version was required partly because errors were found in the previous.
2️⃣ No guarantee that initial data, that we have, is correct and accurate.
3️⃣ No guarantee that user correctly set data in the software and did not make mistakes anywhere. The more difficult the task, the larger the data array needs to be set, and the more likely a mistake is.

Errors 1-2-3 are summed up and can give a result that is far from accurate. The total error can reach 10-20% or more. Realizing this, even after performing the calculation in an expensive software, the designers then still make some margin in current, voltage, mechanical strength, and so on.

Hence the question arises – If the error of the result obtained can be high, if we still have to make a margin, then is it so important to always use software?

In some cases, we really can’t do anything without software, but let’s be honest – there are a lot of tasks that can be solved very quickly using formulae, and they will cause even more trust than expensive software.

Why greater trust? Because formulae are “open source” (any student knows how to use formulae and can easily repeat the calculation, check the result), and software is “closed code” (not everyone knows what is hidden in software and whether it is hidden there without errors).

The software is a way of power over users, it is the monopoly of developers on knowledge, it is social inequality (someone bought, and someone did not), low competition and high prices. Imagine that Om and Kirchhoff would have hidden their laws in the software – would this have accelerated or slowed down the development of the industry?

Formulae are a free tool of knowledge, it is a high level of education in society, it is greater confidence in the results of calculations, it is the verifiability of the results, it is an opportunity to see the key influencing factors and their contribution to the result.

I believe that an engineer, even in the modern digital world, should first of all be able to write formulae, and only then push buttons on a computer keyboard.

I feel the lack of formulae in the industry. To correct this imbalance and show the beauty and elegance, the effectiveness of formulae, I wrote the book “High Voltage Cable Lines“.