The future of SSIT and the state of the engineering profession

The temptation to predict the future is probably best avoided by all but poets and novelists. Within the precise and evidence-based world of engineering, this injunction should no doubt be doubly respected. Nevertheless, having agreed to the task of making predictions and therefore already committing the aforementioned offenses against sound practice, the author widens the offense by making the broader claim that prognostications about the future of SSIT intrinsically and necessarily relate to the state of engineering as a profession. This attitude is, of course, the antithesis of the active approach. But its mechanical and compact features present undeniable attractions to those facing the rigorous demands of engineering education and practice