Motivations

Though t-issues are important to the discussion, these are for the most part of little-t type. From time to time, there can be big 'T' issues brought in, such as this one or that one. It is of interest that both deal with things economic.

Are there big-T issues in engineering? Or, are they just easier to avoid?

Well, we can re-look at why truth engineering in this context. System thinking is a late attribute of enlightenment quest that we can trace over 100s of years. How all this came about can be avoided, skirting several big-T topics.

Yet, the basic theme is that systems relate to problem solving (oops minimization). Computational efforts then followed, and, for a long while, the computer was the human brain with some artifacts involved. Applied mathematics, and resolving systems of equations, was the focus of a lot of energy by very smart people.

We have to acknowledge their stamina, to boot. Some types of problems, that nowadays take the blink of an eye on a modern computational device, took years for people to work. One just has to marvel at the initiative, work ethic, and management skills in terms of tracking all of the details.

As our prowess increased, that which did the work became more artificially based. We're almost to the point that if the computer is not used in some professional situations things may be bordering on mal-practice.

Yet, just as we have underdetermination at the core of our knowledge, the real core of computing is undecidable. Wait! Yes. If we acknowledge that the basic circuitry is for the most part decidable, we can feel better. However, folks, progress has place real-time switching there that can be very problematic.

In fact, one worry ought to be that malfeasance-motivated mischief is not embedded. The US DOD takes this seriously.

But, we'll get back to that. Even if the switching was very stable, what we build upon the framework, layer by layer, introduces back the problematic issues real quick. Then, when we look at the growing presence (ubiquity), it can become very much troublesome.

Now, recognition of that is the motivation of the proposal that truth engineering is essential. Yes, it is necessary that computation be involved and that the majority of the work is being done by some artifact, but is that not the case and is not that expected to continue to grow?

Remarks:

01/22/2013 -- T-issues will migrate to issues of science and religion.

12/17/2010 -- An interesting topic may have presented itself for further study in this regard.

Modified: 01/22/2013