The Engineer

I feel I must reply to the user who felt that it seemed unrealistic that the "settlers" seemed to know a good deal about everything. Let us take the engineer Captain Cyrus Harding. I feel it is perfectly realistic that the engineer knows all that he knows. Being an engineering major in college I feel it neccesary to call it to the attention of readers the amount of subject matter that engineers are expected to learn and absorb. Engineering first of all is the application of scientific theory. Engineers must take chemistry, physics, mathematics, mechanics, statics, dynamics and all of these subjects deal with using the processes of nature to benefit mankind. From the standpoint of Cyrus harding if you look at his background. His engineering skills were probably obtained in the military which probably stressed the precision of said skills. Precision is of course the reproduceability and application of skills that you learn in the classroom. From a personal experience, after I took classical kinematics I was able to produce just from the basic principles of physics a trebuchet (catapault) design that works. So keep this in mind readers.