5  Conclusion

To conclude, I’ll quickly circle back to the disagreement between Randy and me. Years ago, I thought Option B was right: observations in the concrete, tangible world are the real thing. Today, I now think that both Option A and B are right, but not because the difference is squared, so SSE is the same for both options. But rather because engineers need to be able to think well abstractly (Option A) and be fully aware of the concrete world (Option B) to be skillful designers. And mathematical scientists need to be awesome in the symbolic world but also understand how their symbolic manipulations affect the concrete world. Moving between the concrete and the abstract worlds is messy but important and redemptive work! Further, I submit that understanding both the micro level and the macro level is essential.

Both options are “right.”

Thank you so much for your interest and attention. I hope it has been helpful to hear how I have come to understand engineering, what engineers do, and the challenges we collectively face.

With that, let’s declare victory!

Thank you! And I’ll be happy to take a few questions.