What Engineers Know and How They Know It
by Walter G. Vincenti · first published 1990
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…technology existed. Any definition of engineering needs to be broader. Ferguson (Engineering and the Mind's Eye), Florman (several works, but primarily The Existential Pleasures of Engineering), and Vincenti (What Engineers Know and How They Know It) all explore ways in which engineering can't rely on science alone. I think Koen (Discussion of the Method) puts it best, where the application of science is one heuristic that engineers may choose to…
on “"Software Engineering" Is Not Engineering” ↗…technology has historically advanced (way) ahead of theory most of the time. See, for instance, Clifford D. Connor's "A People's History of Science" or the authoratitive (in philosophy of technology circles) "What Engineers Know and How They Know It" by Walter Vincenti. One of the convincing cases Vincenti describes is the development of wing profiles. Structured, intelligent trial and error (parameter variation) to get to shapes that work, but no…
on “The revolutionary ideas of Thomas Kuhn” ↗You might read Walt Vincenti's book on this, "What Engineers Know and How They Know It: Analytical Studies from Aeronautical History" Excellent read. https://www.amazon.ca/What-Engineers-Know-How-They/dp/080184...
on “The last known unidentified marking on the Saturn V S-IC” ↗I recommend reading What Engineers Know and How They Know It by Walter Vincenti [1]. The book is directed towards mechanical and aerospace engineers, but discusses the philosophy and epistemology of engineering as a discipline via several case studies. A major…
on “Ask HN: Good books on philosophy of engineering?” ↗