This title is printed to order. This book may have been self-published. If so, we cannot guarantee the quality of the content. In the main most books will have gone through the editing process however some may not. We therefore suggest that you be aware of this before ordering this book. If in doubt check either the author or publisher’s details as we are unable to accept any returns unless they are faulty. Please contact us if you have any questions.
While many engineering books speak to doing engineering, precious few focus on the concept of being an engineer. Hence, this book, which is a reflection on the human side of engineering. The contents are drawn from two different, but parallel, columns Ron Britton wrote for the Keystone Professional, the official magazine of Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba (formerly the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba). The Thoughts on Design column started in 2001 as an explanation of the opportunities provided by the award of one of the first Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Chairs in Design Engineering. The Engineering Philosophy 101 column came about in 2006, following a discussion relating to the philosophical foundations of engineering ethics. Consequently, this is a book about how one engineer has reacted to circumstances that involve engineers, either directly or peripherally, including engineering successes and failures. It reflects on how engineers should-and hopefully do-fit into and contribute to our ever-changing world, speaks to the privileges and responsibilities society has provided the profession in exchange for the right to self-government within that profession, and reflects on the constraints of professional practice and the creative possibilities that parallel those limitations.
