Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by CSMastermind 753 days ago
His book The Things We Make was good, especially if you're interested in engineering.

Its central thesis is that the engineering method fundamentally differs from the scientific method in that engineers use rules of thumb to solve problems with many unknowns and incomplete information. The scientific method by contrast is a mostly theoretical exercise in building universal principles and theories from empirical observations and experiments.

Engineering, in his view, is not applied science but rather a separate artform.

The book wasn't perfect by any means but that framing and distinction was helpful to incorporate into my worldview.

2 comments

It comes out in paperback in late July!
Totally agree with the central thesis!

Engineering has constraints. Science does not.

Engineering is the application of the findings of science to solve actual problems. Science does not solve actual problems, but it is critical to engineering.