The Engineer and Society (1964) (1964) / Chapter Skim
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The Engineer and Society, John C. Calhoun, Jr.
The Engineer and Society, John C. Calhoun, Jr.
Pages 5-18
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From page 5... ...
But today I think we are seeking answers and asking questions on a scale which is unprecedented in history. In many areas these questions deal with scientific and technological advances, and the answers seem to come rather easily.
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From page 6... ...
And fourth, all of this ought to lead us to some conclusions about responsibility for the engineer. The traditional viewpoint of engineering will not suffice to give the proper perspective for the role of engineering or for its future projection.
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From page 7... ...
At this time the particular practice may often seem to be only an extension of an existing field of engineering. m e second stage of development takes form as the engineer starts devising instruments to measure the things his empirical experience has pointed out to be important.
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From page 8... ...
There may be a dam to be built, a radio to be designed, or oil to he moved from the interior of the earth to its surface. Another dimension recognizes types of work, such as construction, manufacturing operations, design, installation and testing, or other specific jobs.
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From page 9... ...
Not all the engineering problems encountered in this system are assignable to the aeronautical engineer. All kinds of engineers work in this system, because in it one deals with aircraft structures, with aerodynamic properties, with control mechanisms, with the major function of the aircraft, and with the human elements that are involved in flying and operating it.
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From page 10... ...
Again, let me draw an analogy. If the medical profession had the capability of taking one type of neurological component, another type of anatomical component and a food-consuming and workproducing capability of another type, and of putting them all together to make new animals, the medical profession would be doing the counterpart of the job the engineer performs by putting the components of our physical and economical world together to create new systems.
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From page 11... ...
Although engineering has always been dependent in one way or another upon science, it is not equivalent to science. As science has grown, and as man has learned more about his universe and the way in which changes can be produced, the engineer has been forced to become more knowledgeable about the basic behavior of the universe and the behavioral laws pertaining to those things which he is dealing.
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From page 12... ...
In perspective it seems to me that the scientist deals with physical laws and fundamental concepts that are no respecter of time and place. The manager deals with social and economic factors that are always specific in time and place.
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From page 13... ...
Other professions are finding that they can adopt engineering talents and engineering is also being enriched by the knowledge gained. This functional role of the engineer has also produced other relationships of importance.
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From page 14... ...
In part he said, '7Not infrequently engineering projects or resource development produces adverse cultural conditions. These are usually long-term effects which may be difficult to foresee, but there are also short-term side-effects which careful engineering appraisal should reveal.
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From page 15... ...
It is still possible, to a degree, to enjoy the gifts of nature on a happenstance basis, but the chances of so doing are becoming less and less, particularly as our population grows. The number of individuals who can be served in a chance way is a mere handful compared to the population.
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From page 16... ...
It is not the engineering profession particularly that wants a new road, a method of transmitting pictures from place to place, or a convenient set of structures with which to play recorded voices. I think the engineer may be intrigued with these possibilities, he may be challenged to provide the system to do these things, or he may be fired with a certain zeal that the lot of mankind will be easier if these things exist.
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From page 17... ...
There are few people who stop or pause at all to consider what a decision today to engage in a certain engineering activity may mean to them five or ten years from now. We need a broad dissemination throughout the public mind of the importance of technologies as modifying forces in our culture and in our life.
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From page 18... ...
There is, more importantly, however, the fact that engineering plays a role in directing the manner in which our society will live and the form which our culture will take tomorrow. From this, it seems to me, the engineer must not only be a better specialist and a better professional, doing his job where he does it, with a view toward the broad picture, but he ought to make his impact felt wherever decisions are made.
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