engineering is an art?

Answer 1

I would say it is a science. The engineering degree is a bachelor of science not art. Engineers don't typically think on the artistic side which is why engineering companies have people to do that separately. Maybe on some abstract level but not in the typical workplace.

Answer 2

It certainly could be considered an art, many people do. One thing that is certain is that engineering is not an exact science.

A substantial portion of engineering requires making a lot of judgement calls without any strict formula or concrete answers. An example many engineering students should be familiar with is when your professor has some complex involved equation on the chalk board then basically zeros out a whole section. While not a complex equation lets use X +Y = Z. That suddenly goes to X+0=Z, then X =Z. When asked how or why this is ok to do, the professor responds that "well X is much much greater than Y, therefore Y's contribution can be considered insignificant." So one aspect of engineering is knowing when one can or can not make certain assumptions like this. So there is a bit of an art to how the work is performed at times.

However, many would consider evaluating the work output, or design solutions, as the aspect of engineering that allows it to be defined as an artform. Consider that I give 10 engineers or groups of engineers the same problem to solve. Do you think they will all return with the exact same solution? If engineering was an exact science, they would. The most likely scenario is that they would all return with different designs. They will all perform the intended work and meet all the specifications, but which one is best? Is it the one that can be put together quickest, the lightest one, the cheapest one, the one with the fewest parts, the one with additional features or functionality than was requested? Again, since they all satisfy the customer requirements and needs, how does one decide? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as the best engineering solution depends on who you ask and what appeals to them or what they percieve as a 'beautiful' design.

So is engineering an art? Considering the following questions and tell me, am I describing engineering, or painting a picture.
a) there is no definitive, predetermined solution to every problem.
b) one can take many different approaches and use different techniques to provide a solution
c) the accpetability, suitability, or 'goodness' of any solution will depend on who is examining or evaluating the work.

Answer 3

no