Science, Art, and Engineering

Thus far this has not been an exactly optimistic comment on truth. I actually do have a much higher opinion of human nature and believe that the vast majority of us are, in fact, in favor of the truth. Why then have I been so negative? I fundamentally believe that there is truth to be found. There are so many examples of things that were not don’t properly, they are unfortunately never really reported and heralded as something that was done right. We really only primarily here about the things that have gone wrong. It's typically said that that one ah shit erases a dozen or so atta boys. And this is true. Here is an example.

How many suspension bridges does the world have in place? These numerous spans are both beautiful and are the epitome of engineering marvels, but they are more than engineering. Most of us can name the more significant ones in our country, Brooklyn, Golden Gate, Verizono, but very quickly the list gets shorter. There are more, many more world wide. But if you are an engineer you also know the name of the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Has that mistake ever been repeated? But we still hear about it today and it is used to describe an engineering mistake. At the time, however, I think it was probably more of a scientific mistake.

I use the suspension bridge as an example since more than anything, a project of this immense scale epitomizes the combining of three areas, namely science, art, and engineering. All three were necessary in order for the bridges, as we know them, to be standing therefore giving us functional examples of the success of truth, as we know it. When man first undertook construction of these grandiose extremes, the Brooklyn bridge, for instance. There were many things that were not understood. Steel and its properties had to be examined to get the cabling right. Significant additional work was necessary in order to understand how to get the foundation for that structure correct, let alone how to construct it. Yet throughout, there was a need to construct something aesthetically appealing. All three disciplines played together to get it right - John A. Roebling got all three right despite the efforts of many to throw him off.

What I would like to present is an understanding that when seeking the truth in our profession as well, a commitment to all three is vital in the search for the truth. True analysis, as is the case with a bridge, is a convergence of all three disciplines. Most often analysis is treated as an engineering problem, something to be solved by formula and repeated over and over. Formulaic analysis ignores 2/3’s of the true potential of analysis. It is not the analyst fault necessarily. This too was learned in school, which is most typically aligned with an engineering discipline and certainly not aligned with the school of science or art. This is not to suggest that a case could be made for creating an analysis curriculum in the other places, it is definitely in the right school. It is an understanding that analysis and engineering should not be done in isolation.