There comes a time in life when we need to have uncomfortable conversations. Even when the topic is blatantly obvious, it can still be awkward and difficult to broach. 

I took an astronomy class once in college that I found to be extremely interesting. Still, it could have been one of those courses of study where people react, “How would anyone ever make a living with astronomy?”

Most of us these days have experienced the communication method known as texting. If you have not texted before, I commend you for getting by this long in life using more traditional methods of communication such as speaking.

ditor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of stories that borrows from daily life experiences to illustrate engineering concepts.

While the saying “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” may be popular among those who skirt tragedy through life, it is not an attitude we can adopt as engineers.

Most of us have probably experienced the exercise known as “value engineering,” the process where everyone on the team looks at a design and tries to find ways to save some money.

Recently, I had the opportunity to go on a fishing trip. It was a “deep-sea” excursion from the northern tip of Plum Island in New England. The recommended method of trickery was to put some pieces of squid on a hook, weight the line with a 16-ounce hunk of lead and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean.