That is not a choice open to us. I have described engineering as being in the fast lane. That does not do justice to the uncertainties and the new demands that the engineering profession is facing as a result of increased global competition and the pace of technology introduction. Traffic lanes are paved to be smooth, easing high speed travel. Traffic lanes have stripes to keep cars from crashing into one another and from straying off the road surface entirely.
Traffic lanes go somewhere.
Each company and each engineer must chart their own course. References Air Force Office of Scientific Research and U.S. Department of Labor. Household Data Annual Averages, Table 39, p. 209. Hellemans, Alexander, and Bryan Bunch. After the Big Crunch.