Well said. The engineering always came first and THEN the
theories, if anybody had time to sit and come up with
explanations for stuff.
Among people that need to get stuff done, you just gotta get it
done, using whatever heuristics were available at the time. I
love heuristics myself; it's more than just some tricks with the
hands; it's anytime "something just works" and really, it
doesn't matter _why_.
Education goes backwards; learn theories then try to apply them.
It's not that it's useless; it's proven to be quite useful in
many cases.
But like most things, anything overapplied can lead to strange
consequences.
A good metaphor for the split between Science and Technology or
Science and Engineering, is what happens in American military:
There's two ways to become an officer in the military:
a) Work your way up (experiential - technology/engineering)
b) go to school; West Point graduates go STRAIGHT to Army Second
Lieutenants (theoretical - science).
As expected, there's animosity between those who fought their
way up and those who learned their way in.
