Sometimes I find a quote that precisely describes how I feel about things. Today, I discovered this quote about engineering:
"Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyze so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance."
- Dr. AR Dykes, British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976.
If this doesn't accurately describe software engineering, I don't know what does.
It seems to apply much more to SE than other forms of engineering. Examples of critical bugs and show stoppers are far more common in software systems than physical infrastructure... or so it appears to me. Is that an illusion created for me as a member of the public (w.r.t non-SE fields) or is it a testament to how much more robust engineering has become in the last few decades? I wonder if we can expect the same growth in SE as the field evolves, tools grow better, understanding develops, and the public demands better. I cynically suspect not, at least not in the 90% of software that has no immediate physical repercussions upon failure.