The Introspective Engineer
Samuel C. Florman
- An
- exciting
- look
- at
- how
- engineering
- can
- shape
- the
- future
- of
- our
- society
- and
- offer
- creative
- technological
- solutions
- to
- our
- twenty-first–century
- problems.The
- profession
- of
- engineering
- is
- rarely
- the
- topic
- of
- serious
- public
- discussion.
- Multimedia,
- virtual
- reality,
- information
- superhighway-these
- are
- the
- buzzwords
- of
- the
- day.
- But
- real
- engineers,
- the
- people
- who
- conceive
- of
- computers
- and
- oversee
- their
- manufacture,
- the
- people
- who
- design
- and
- build
- information
- systems,
- cars,
- bridges,
- and
- airplanes,
- labor
- in
- obscurity.
- There
- are
- no
- engineering
- heroes,
- and
- we
- as
- a
- society
- are
- poorer
- for
- this.Like
- Florman’s
- landmark
- book,
- The
- Existential
- Pleasures
- of
- Engineering,
- The
- Introspective
- Engineer
- is
- a
- clarion
- call
- to
- society.
- We
- must
- awaken
- to
- the
- reality
- that
- the
- quality
- of
- human
- life
- depends
- on
- increasingly
- creative
- technological
- solutions
- to
- the
- problems
- we
- face.
- We
- need
- cleaner,
- more
- economical
- engines,
- faster
- computers,
- more
- power,
- and
- a
- healthier
- planet
- if
- we
- are
- to
- survive.
- It
- is
- engineers
- who
- will
- lead
- us
- to
- this
- future.“The
- Introspective
- Engineer
- is
- thought-provoking,
- highly
- readable,
- and
- delightful.”
- —ASEE
- PRISM“Here,
- in
- a
- rare
- combination
- of
- intelligence,
- broad
- experience,
- and
- writing
- of
- style
- and
- wit,
- is
- an
- examination
- of
- the
- engineering
- profession
- today
- and
- the
- nature
- of
- engineers
- themselves.
- .
- .
- .
- One
- can
- only
- wish
- others
- had
- such
- vision.”
- —Engineers
- Quarterly“Samuel
- Florman
- .
- .
- .
- has
- provided
- another
- elegant
- and
- insightful
- look
- into
- engineering.
- In
- case
- you
- haven’t
- read
- any
- of
- Florman’s
- books
- yet,
- I
- encourage
- you
- to
- do
- so
- as
- he
- is
- one
- of
- engineering’s
- most
- articulate
- and
- thoughtful
- authors.”
- —Journal
- of
- Engineering Education
