Abstract :
We live in a world in which little appears to be stable but the very presence of change itself. Engineers must invariably be counted among the agents of change, if only because the size and complexity of their projects or the sheer number of products manufactured affect our natural and social ecosystems. Engineers have the particular talent of accomplishing a task with only partial knowledge of nature´s laws and society´s whims, but this attribute also imposes grave responsibilities, particularly when the side effects of their efforts arc difficult to foresee. Thus, whenever further exploration must be bypassed for the sake of moving ahead on a project, engineers should proceed as if they were conducting a critical experiment involving human beings.
