OVERVIEW

The use of the engineering method rather than the use of reason is humankind's most equitably divided endowment. I mean by

the engineering method the strategy for causing the best change in a poorly understood situation within the available resources

and by reason, the ability to distinguish between the true and the false, or what Descartes has called "good sense." Whereas reason had to await early Greek philosophy for its development, is even now denied in some cultures, and is in retreat in others, the underlying strategy that defines the engineering method has not changed since the birth of humans. To be human is to be an engineer.

The objective of this chapter is to prepare the way for a consideration of the strategy the engineer uses to solve problems that will be given in Part II. To achieve this objective we will divide our thoughts into three sections. In the first, we will view the engineer through the eyes of the layperson, historian, etymologist, lexicographer, and anthropologist to learn how we are to recognize an engineer when we meet one. In the second, attention shifts to the characteristics of a problem that requires the talents of this new acquaintance. Finally, in the third part of this chapter, we will examine several problems that unexpectedly bear a resemblance to engineering problems. We should anticipate that they might be effectively attacked using the engineering method. Incidentally we will come to appreciate how long ago it was that...