Gold Medal Address. Matters of Balance
In my earliest training in engineering I learnt the physical laws of balance and later studied the phenomena of structural and aerodynamic instabilities in their various forms. As a result, I became confident that engineers were reasonably well equipped to make rational design decisions such as to avoid failures due to predictable loss of equilibrium. In contrast, I have found it to be paradoxical that there are frequently no comparable rational bases from which to determine the correct balance in many non-physical matters of concern to the profession. As a Libran, and in looking back over my
working life, it occurred to me that this might be a golden opportunity to ruminate on some of the imponderables which I have encountered.
A.R. Flint