Engineering and pure science

I have often wondered why the cathedrals of mediaeval times didn’t fall down. If I enter one of these edifices I feel disturbed by a number of conflicting emotions. I say to myself: “Now, Swann, you are not an architect, and you do not know anything about building churches. However, you do know a little bit about the theory of elasticity and how to calculate the stresses in various structures; you know a little bit about the things which are fundamental in providing that the cathedral shall not fall down, and yet, the fellow who designed that dome did not have any knowledge at all of these matters.” I start with the feeling that I ought to be able to design a much better dome than he has, and yet, if somebody sentenced me to this task, and even if I should, in my own humble way, muddle through the calculation necessary in my opinion to insure safety, I should never have the courage to erect the dome until I had talked with some practical engineer and asked him whether he thought that my dome really would stand up in practice, or tumble down, to my great disappointment and humiliation.

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