Life and Dots of Daniel

Why Engineering makes me a better person

Petronas Twin Towers

In this post I want to draw a point that is very dear to us engineers, as far as being a better person is concerned. I will try making my argument more connected to you by incorporating these four words – force, stress, strain and load. We talk about them, deal with them, sleep with them every day, so much so it is part and parcel of our lives.

Look at the title again. Engineers, you might want to agree with me. For those who know peanuts about engineering, do not be dismayed with the point that I am going to draw, you will find the four words very related to you and in your life. Here is my point – why engineering makes me a better person.

Let us go through briefly the meanings of the four words.

Force: An effect that causes things to move in a particular direction. In the engineering term, force is a convenient abstraction to represent mentally the pushing and pulling interaction between objects.

Stress: An organism’s total response to environmental demands or pressures. In engineering term, stress is defined as “force per area” which represents applied force or system of forces that tends to strain or deform a body.

Strain: To stretch or force beyond the proper or legitimate limit. In engineering term, strain is "deformation of a solid due to stress" that can be easily understood as deforming parts of a structure or shape by applying an external force.

Load: The share of work allocated to or required of a person or organization. In engineering term, load is the overall force to which a structure is subjected in supporting a weight or mass or in resisting externally applied forces.

Do you know what is interesting about the list? Of the four words, you use most of them in your everyday conversation. I told you so earlier on, didn't I? Think about that for a moment.

What is going on here? Have you ever hooked up in the following situation? Say when someone gives u a task, probably your boss, like it or not you are forced to do it. At some point of time, you feel so stressed that you begin chewing your nails or plucking your hair. At the end of the day, if you cannot handle your emotions well, you strain your relationship with colleagues or even family members. However, the beautiful thing is that the more capable you are in completing your tasks or solving problems, the more load will be given to you like there is no tomorrow.

Am I not right here?

Engineers know well how to calculate forces. We analyse whether a structural member is able to take certain loads, if not, we distribute the loads to other members. We look at stress-strain relationship of the material so as to understand the behaviour of the material when stressed.

Thus, being able to apply and enjoy what we learned in engineering, it helps us in understanding our limit, our potential, and our relationship better. We see the direction to move in when forced. We understand the amount of stress that we can take. We know that when something is strained beyond its limit, it is beyond salvation. And most of all, we know how to distribute loads so we take the one we can while others take the rest.

Thus, understanding engineering in its brevity does help even though you are a lay person. Of course engineers have better privileges as they grasp the essence first hand.

However, that’s not all either. Knowing how forces, stresses, strains and loads interact with each other, we draw the strength available in materials to overcome the problem. We just do not give up on problems, we solve them. Being confident is something, being safe when dealing with the public is another thing, which is why we introduce factor of safety in our design.

Last but not least, we learn to simplify.

Thus, in trying to prove my point, I am humbly guided by Karl Terzaghi (1883-1963)...  who had this to say about his achievements, “Spend on it as much time as necessary to inform the reader with as few words as practicable about all the significant findings and about the essential features of the construction operations which have been performed”.

I am nowhere near the shadow of Terzaghi but what I am doing is actually trying to inform others with as few words as I can the beauty of engineering and how engineering skills can be applied in one’s life. The wise saying "less is more" is true in this context.