Table Of ContentPractically Speaking
A Dictionary of Quotations
on Engineering, Technology and Architecture
About the Compilers
Carl C Gaither was born on 3 June 1944 in San Antonio, Texas. He has
conducted research work for the Texas Department of Corrections and for
the Louisiana Department of Corrections. Additionally he has worked as an
Operations Research Analyst for ten years. He received his undergraduate
degree (Psychology) from the University of Hawaii and has graduate degrees
from McNeese State University (Psychology), North East Louisiana University
(Criminal Justice), and the University of Southwestem Louisiana (Mathematical
Statistics).
Alma E Cavazos-Gaither was born on 6 January 1955 in San Juan, Texas. She has
previously worked in quality control, material control, and as a bilingual data
collector. She is a Petty Officer First Class in the United States Navy Reserve. She
received her associate degree (Telecommunications) from Central Texas College.
Currently she is working on her BS Spanish.
Together they selected and arranged quotations for the books Statistically
Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations (Institute of Physics Publishing, 1996),
Physically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Physics and Astronomy (Institute
of Physics Publishing, 1997) and Mathematically Speaking: A Dictionary of
Qiiotatioiis (Institute of Physics Publishing, 1998).
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
About the Illustrator
Andrew Slocombe was born in Bristol in 1955. He spent four years of his life
at Art College where he attained his Honours Degree (Graphic Design). Since
then he has tried to see the funny side to everything and considers that seeing
the funny side to engineering, technology and architecture has tested him to the
full! He would like to thank Carl and Alma for the challenge!
The photograph of the authors on the previous page was taken by Kerry Yancey.
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
Practically Speaking
A Dictionary of Quotations
on Engineering, Technology
and Architecture
Selected and Arranged by
Carl C Gaither
and
Alma E Cavazos-Gaither
Illustrated by Andrew Slocombe
Institute of Physics Publishing
Bristol and Philadelphia
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
@ 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission
of the publisher. Multiple copying is permitted in accordance with the terms
of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency under the terms of its
agreement with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals.
IOP Publishing Ltd has attempted to trace the copyright holders of all the
quotations reproduced in this publication and apologizes to copyright holders if
permission to publish in this form has not been obtained.
British Library Cataloguing-in-p~tbiicationD ata
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0 7503 0594 0
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data are available
Published by Institute of Physics Publishing, wholly owned by The Institute of
Physics, London
Institute of Physics Publishing, Dirac House, Temple Back, Bristol BSI 6BE, UK
US Office: Institute of Physics Publishing, Suite 1035, The Public Ledger Building,
150 South Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Typeset in T@ using the IOP Bookmaker Macros
Printed in Great Britain by J W Arrowsmith Ltd, Bristol
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
I dedicate this book to my father
Clifford C. Gaither, LT. COL., USAF (RET)
Director of Physical Plant,
McNeese State University (1971-1991)
Carl C. Gaither
I dedicate this book to my son
Marcus Anthony Sutton, A.A.
Electronic Engrneering Technology
Alma E. Cavazos-Gaither
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
If you can swing an axe, or wield a brush-hook,
Or drive a stake, or drag a chain all day,
If you can scribble ”figgers” in a note-book,
Or shoot a range-pole half a mile away,
If you can sight a transit or a level,
Or move a target up and down a rod,
If you fear neither man nor devil,
And know yourself and trust the living God;
If you can wade a swamp, or swim a river,
Nor fear the deeps, nor yet the dizzy heights,
If you can stand the cold without a shiver,
And take the Higgins’ ink to bed 0’ nights,
If you can turn a thumb-screw with your fingers,
When every digit’s like a frozen thumb,
If you can work as long as daylight lingers
And not complain, nor think you’re going some;
If you can sight through tropic-heat’s refraction,
Or toil all day beneath a blistering sun,
If you can find a sort of satisfaction
In knowing that you‘ve got a job well done,
If you can be an Esquimau and nigger
And try to be a gentleman, to boot,
If you can use a ”guessing stick to figger,
And know a coefficient from a root;
If your calculus and descriptive are forgotten,
And your algebra just serves you fairly well,
If your drafting and your lettering are rotten,
And your Trautwine’s always handy by to tell,
If you can close a traverse without fudgin’,
Or check a line of levels by a foot,
If you can set a slope-steak, just by judgin’,
And never kick a tripod with your foot;
If you can run a line where you are told,
And make it stay somewhere upon the map,
If you can read your notes when they get cold,
And know that contours mustn’t ever lap,
If you can line a truss or tap a river,
Or make a surly foreman come across,
If you can take an order, well as give it,
And not have secret pity for the boss;
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
If you can climb a stool and not feel lowly,
Nor have your head turned by a swivel chair,
If you can reach your judgments slowly,
And make your rulings always just and fair,
If you can give yourself and all that’s in you,
And make the others give their own best, too,
If you can handle men of brawn and sinew,
And like the men and make ’em like you too;
If you can’t boast a college education,
Or, if you’ve got a sheep-skin, can forget,
If you get a living wage for compensation,
And give a little more than what you get,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
And treat them without favor, nor with fear,
You’ll be a man-and your own master,
But-what is more-you’ll be an ENGINEER.
Randolph, Robert Isham
IF
In J.A.L. Waddell, Frank W. Skinner and Harold E. Wessman (Editors)
Vocational Guidance in Eiigineering Lines, First Edition (pp. 19 and 24)
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
CONTENTS
...
PREFACE Xlll
ANALYSIS 1
ANSWER 3
ARCH 4
ARCHITECT 5
ARCHITECTURE 10
ASSUMPTION 14
AUTHORITY 15
BEAUTY 16
BRIDGE 18
BUILD 21
BUILDER 23
BUILDING 25
CALCULATION 26
CAUSE AND EFFECT 27
CHAOS 29
COMMON SENSE 30
COMMUNICATION 32
CONCEPT 35
CONSTRUCTION 36
CREATE 37
CREATIVITY 38
CREED 40
DATA 42
DECISION 44
ix
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
X PRACTICALLY SPEAKING
DESIGN 46
DISCOVERY 48
ELECTRICAL 52
ENERGY 54
ENGINEER 57
ENGINEERING 94
EQUATION 110
ERROR 111
ESTIMATES 116
ETHICS 117
EXPERIENCE 118
EXPERIMENT 122
FACTS 126
FAILURE 131
FLUID 132
FORCE 133
FORECAST 134
FORMULA 135
FRICTION 137
GENIUS 138
GEOLOGY 140
GOAL 141
GRAPHICS 142
GRAVITY 143
HEAT 144
IDEA 146
IMAGINATION 150
IMPOSSIBLE 151
IMPRESSION 153
INFORMATION 154
INNOVATION 155
INSPIRATION 156
INVENTIONS 157
INVENTOR 164
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
CONTENTS xi
INVESTIGATOR 166
JUDGMENT 167
KNOWLEDGE 168
LAWS 173
LEVER 17 5
LOGIC 176
MACHINE 180
MATHEMATICS 183
MEASUREMENT 187
MECHANICS 191
METHOD 193
MISTAKE 194
MODEL 195
MOTION 196
OBSERVATION 198
OPINION 204
PATENT 205
PERCEPTIONS 206
PERSPECTIVES 207
POWER 208
PRAYER 209
PRECISION 212
PREDICT 213
PROBLEM 214
PROJECT 220
PROPORTION 221
REALITY 222
REASON 223
REPAIR 225
REPORTS 226
RESEARCH 227
RESEARCH PLANS 229
RISK 23 1
RULE 232
Copyright © 1999 IOP Publishing Ltd
