When people say that the “ends justify the means,” it is usually an excuse for screwing something up and shrugging their shoulders as if to say, “Oh well, I got the result I wanted and that’s all that matters.” It reminds me of that impulse you have when you are a kid playing a practical joke that you know is probably a bad idea, but do it anyway because you want that thrill you feel after your plot, usually at someone else’s expense, has been executed. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. After giving it some thought as it relates to engineering, I think I’ve come up with the answer to whether the “ends justify the means” and my answer would be… sometimes.
We as engineers are often guilty of taking things literally, and we can apply those skills to answer deep philosophical questions. If you’ve made it this far in life, chances are you’ve sat in a few classes and been graded on your performance. If you’re like me and went to school for engineering, you may have hoped and prayed that your class would be graded on a curve. Grading on a curve meant that if you got a test score of say 35% for example, you might not actually get a failing grade if the best score in the class was a 55%.