The engineer, and more generally the designer, is concerned with how things ought to be - how they ought to be in order to attain goals, and to function.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
At its heart, engineering is about using science to find creative, practical solutions. It is a noble profession.
Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.
The engineer performs many public functions from which he gets only philosophical satisfactions. Most people do not know it, but he is an economic and social force.
Engineering or technology is all about using the power of science to make life better for people, to reduce cost, to improve comfort, to improve productivity, etc.
At Stanford, we teach 'design thinking' - that is, we put together small, interdisciplinary groups to figure out what the true needs are and then to apply the art of engineering to serve them.
You see, my ambition was not to confound the engineering world but simply to create a beautiful piece of art.
I kind of think of engineering like the chefs at a restaurant. Nobody's going to deny chefs are integrally important, but there's also so many other people who contribute to a great meal.
I would say that an understanding of man's intrinsic needs, and of the necessity to search for a climate in which those needs could be realized, is fundamental to the education of the designer.
Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with how they might be - in short, with design.
I am an engineer, but what I find important and necessary is that you just learn things as you go along.