Today is Columbus Day. I still remember “in 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue …” History has revealed that the discovery of the New World may not have been exactly according to the old rhyme. Today, we remember it mostly as a federal holiday, except for people in consulting firms who are working today.

In one sense, Columbus’ trip was a failure because he failed to find a passage to India. Imagine how Fox News might have covered the trip if the person who sent Columbus to India had been named Obama instead of Isabella. In many other senses, the trip changed the world forever.

Today, we have many new frontiers to explore. These frontiers are technological instead of geographical. Engineers are modern day explorers. We stand at the beginning of a new day in bio-medicine, energy, sustainability, and materials. We are not certain where the exploration of these fields will lead us. What we do know is that our lives will be changed dramatically over the next decade or two. Today, cheer Columbus and hug an engineer!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS