How to Interprate a Symbol?

Good point. I like to use the "counting one $ Billion dollar bills, one a second", to educate people how we use huge numbers so glibly, and often people can't comprehend huge numbers, a $ Billion here, a $ Billion there....

How many years would it take for Bill Gates to count out his fortune at $100/sec?

Me too Del...

I was flabbergasted when I got to college and got told that Kilocycles were wrong, and I HAD to use Kilohertz.

and what the hell is a Siemen?? It sounds like something I would find in an X-rated movie. I would much rather use my old friend Mho.

but then... we have been using Henries for years.

Bill

Essentially, an engineer's function is to design, devise, construct, operate and manage the technological aspects by which the material demands of the society are satisfied. To do this, he/ she draws on the laws of science, as defined by the scientist and experimenters; on the materials and energy, manpower resources about him/ her; and on a vast storehouse of recorded knowledge, empirical data, and other "good commercial practices".

The extent to which the engineer draws on the laws of science, depends on the extent to which scientists have uncovered facts and verified theories, bringing those to codified and "measurable" levels; the extent to which the engineer depends and utilizes the available resources depends on the approval with which society views the accomplishments of the engineer, and on various socio-political "equations"; and the extent to which the dependence and utility would be on the different "engineering data" are based on the EDUCATION and overall experiences.

In all these, however, the one thing that would differentiate engineers from scientists, artists, and other professional practitioners would be that a GOOD ENGINEER would always THINK, FEEL, MEASURE and ACT. Engineers would be able to understand this language of "feel/ measure", irrespective of whether they have totally different nationalities, even if they would not be able to converse through their own respective languages!

Perhaps it is this "FEEL, MEASURE" factor about which dsyamigh is mentioning... "we really need to appreciate more than just know a thing"

Best wishes

pvhramani

couldn't agree more.

When the numbers tell a story, that's knowledge.

getting the story out of the numbersis the essence of scientific literacy.

getting the damn thing to work, like the numbers say it should, thats engineering!

milo

Couldn't agree more! So long as the question makes sense (i.e.: not 'how far is up?'), it is a good question. And to know something is not necessarily the same as to understand it. As a priest I once knew used to say (frequently) - "I know a lot more about that than I understand."