Quotations #2: Citizen Engineer

Engineers are idealists, in every sense of the word. While we’re focused on finding the simplest, most efficient solutions, we are also utopians. We find ourselves contemplating not only what could be better, but also what could be. We’re drawn to visionary ideas and idealists. Over the years, engineers have demonstrated incredible courage in pursuing their visions - working for years on concepts that may or may not ever pan out, testing ideas no one else believes in. We also share the idealism of artists. We see beauty in new ideas, novel approaches, and new ways to tame complexity. We’re a stubborn, meticulous, critical bunch, unforgiving of shoddy work and half-baked theories, abhorrent of conventional wisdom, but always eager to learn, to try, to push the limits, and to create something new. 

At the same time, engineers are pragmatists. We must deal with the constraints of technological limitations, business requirements, and budget realities. We don’t always have the time we’d like to implement our best ideas, or have access to the ideal tools or materials we’d love to use. Sometimes we must content our selves with the knowledge that the world is better off with a real product that delivers 20% more energy efficiency today than with a theoretical product that might be 80% more efficient but is unlikely ever to make it to market.

- Citizen Engineer: A Handbook for Socially Responsible Engineering (Ch1, pg. 5)