On 11/27/05, Gerhard Fiedler <lists@connectionbrazil.com> wrote:
> To throw in another thought: IMO a very important part of good engineering
> is to make sure the unknowable is reasonably contained, "reasonably"
> meaning finding a balance between the cost/effort and the (of course
> unknown) probability of the unknown :)  And there's lots of this unknowable
> stuff: imprecision or outright errors in data sheets and component
> characteristic fluctuation, the client's mind and how it expresses itself
> in requirements, the actual real-life conditions when using a product,
> compiler implementations and operating system interactions, my state of
> mind at 03:00, ...
>
> Maybe the unknowable does have its place in engineering?
>
> Gerhard
>

The unknowable and the knowable are relative. A 1K Ohm with +/-5% tolerance
resistance is of unknown value and unpredicatble exact value, but it is of known
boundary value. It is knowable in one sense yet unknowable in another. ;-)

Mathematics is suppose to be the subject who needs precision. However
a mathematics theory needs only to be coherent (or self-contained)
 to make it a valid theory. One have to agree on some atoms/base
theorem and then based the whole theory on those. Again this base
theorem can not be proved or disproved.

Engineering is even more so. All theories are accurate (or even only good
enough) only under certain conditions. That is good enough for people to
make use of it.

Regards,
Xiaofan

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