What is engineering? What is an engineer??
Although it is a very old activity or trade, engineering is a
relatively young academic discipline or profession. Only in recent
years has it reached a stage of maturity where some of its defining
details and differentiating characteristics can be articulated.
Engineering is the endeavor that creates, maintains, develops, and
applies technology for societies' needs and desires. Its origins go
back to the very beginning of human civilization where tools were
first created and developed. Indeed, a good case can be made for
the defining of humans as those animals that create, develop, and
understand the significance of technology.
Over time, the part of technology that acts
as an extension of human capabilities became the purview of
engineering. One can view bicycles, cars, and trains as extensions
of walking and running. Airplanes are an extension and application
of a bird's ability to fly transferred to humans. The telegraph,
telephone, radio, television, and the internet are extensions of
talking, hearing, and seeing. The microscope, telescope, and
medical x-ray are also extensions of human sight and vision.
Writing, books, libraries and computer data-bases are extensions of
human memory and the computer itself is an extension of the human's
brain in doing arithmetic and carrying out logical arguments and
procedures. Indeed, looking around your environment in almost any
setting, will illustrate just how pervasive technology is. In
almost any home or office, there is very little that is truly
"natural"; i.e., little that is not created or manipulated by
technology. The food that you eat, the utensils that you eat with,
the table that you eat off of, the house that you are in, the
clothes that you wear, the book that you read, the television that
you watch, the telephone that you communicate with, the car that
you travel in -- these are all technologies created by human
cleverness to satisfy human needs. This process of creation is
engineering and those who do the creating are practicing
engineering, whether they call themselves engineers or not.
Not only is much of the inanimate world
created by engineering, part of the living world is also. Almost
all crops and agriculturally produced food stuff are "engineered"
through selective breeding. The same is true of domestic animals
such as pets and animals raised for food or sport. Certainly the
dogs, cats, and cattle have not "naturally" evolved to their
current state. They have been “created” or “designed” to satisfy
human desires or needs. The slow and less exact methods of
controlled breeding are being replaced by genetic engineering,
tissue engineering, and applications of nanotechnology. We humans
have the cleverness to do that. It is the development of the tools,
theories, and methods and the understanding of the appropriate
sciences and mathematics for that process that is engineering. It
is a central part of the history of humanity.
Not only has engineering made our lives
easier and longer, it has sometimes made them more terrible and
shorter through improving our ability to kill and harm when we wage
war. Indeed, military and defense needs have been a historic driver
of technological advancement. One of the earliest categorizations
of engineering was into military and civilian (or civil)
engineering.
Because technology enables and causes change,
it and its creators, the engineers, are viewed with mixed feelings.
This is especially true in modern (perhaps post-modern) times when
the negative side effects (“unintended consequences”) of technology
must be addressed.
This note is an attempt to address the
question of what engineering is and then that of what an engineer
is. It is intended for the general public to better understand just
what this thing that has such a profound effect on our individual
and collective lives is. The note is intended for the student who
is considering becoming an engineer and, therefore, it is for
parents and high school and college counselors as well. It is for
the university engineering student and professor and for the
university administrator. It is for the state and federal
governments who fund engineering education and research and the
investor who invests in technology. It is for the husband, wife,
parent, or child who wants to better understand their spouse,
child, or parent. It is for everyone who accepts the argument that
a human is a technological animal and that technology has a
pervasive effect on our lives.
An important part of this note is the list of
references. This collection of short essays is intended to open
many topics and ideas, not develop them. A rather long list of
references is given to allow the reader to pursue any of the many
ideas further.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment