Chapter 3.2 To Conclude

It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong. – John Maynard Keynes. 20th century economist.
By making suggestions and by asking searching questions before spending an imponderable amount of time drawing up the solution in detail the engineer is better informed about the physical problems involved and will have a better understanding of the architecture. Engineering is a commercial occupation: structural design can come at a cost if the initial assessment of the design does not bear any relation to the architect’s proposals. Drawings are easily misread.

Some engineers may take the route to management within larger organisations. Many might continue from early career to stay in touch with design and analysis. Whichever route that the prospective engineer may chose this book is intended to link the seemingly opposed worlds of mathematical analysis, practical application of design and the realm of architecture.

If the reader is a little more enthusiastic, a little more inspired and a little more enlightened as a result of reading this book, it might be judged to have been a worthwhile exercise.