What is engineering??  (Page 2/3)

Not only has engineering made our lives easier and longer, it has sometimes made them more terrible andshorter through improving our ability to kill and harm when we wage war. Indeed, military and defense needs have been a historic driverof 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 technologymust be addressed.

This note is an attempt to address the question of what engineering is and then that of what an engineeris. It is intended for the general public to better understand just what this thing that has such a profound effect on our individualand collective lives is. The note is intended for the student who is considering becoming an engineer and, therefore, it is forparents and high school and college counselors as well. It is for the university engineering student and professor and for theuniversity administrator. It is for the state and federal governments who fund engineering education and research and theinvestor 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 apervasive effect on our lives.

An important part of this note is the list of references. This collection of short essays is intended to openmany topics and ideas, not develop them. A rather long list of references is given to allow the reader to pursue any of the manyideas further.

Science and engineering

One of the first distinctions that must be made is between science and engineering. It is not a simpledistinction because the two are so interdependent and intertwined, but whatever difference there is needs to be considered.

Science is the study of “natural” phenomena. It is the collection of theories, models, laws, and facts about thephysical world and the methods used to create this collection. Physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc. try to understand,describe, and explain the physical world that would exist even if there were no humans. It is creative in building theories, models,and explanations, but not in creating the phenomena that it studies. Science has its own philosophy with an epistemology,esthetics, and logic. It has its own technology in order to carry out its investigations, build its tools, and pursue its goals.Science has its organizations, culture, and methods of inquiry. It has its "scientific method" which has served as a model (for betteror for worse) in many other disciplines.

Science is old. It was part of the original makeup of a university or college in the form of naturalphilosophy. It came out of antiquity, developed in the middle ages, blossomed in the renaissance, was the tool of the enlightenment,and came into its present maturity in modernity. Indeed, the history of science is, in some ways, a history of intellectualdevelopment. This is certainly only true in conjunction with manyother strains of philosophical, economical, theological, and technological development, but science is a central player in thatstory. Science is often paired with the arts (and Humanities and Social Sciences) in the “College of Arts and Science” of atraditional university.