TL;DR.
Science is observation and experimentation, while engineering is problem-solving with practical knowledge. Engineering is an older discipline, with its origins dating back 500,000 years, whereas European science began with the Scientific Revolution in 1543. Both disciplines are vital for human progress.
An Introduction.
Western science began in Ancient Greece and Ancient Persia in ≈ 400 BCE, while its European evolution started with the 1543 Scientific Revolution, but the formal scientific method, as we know it today, was deployed in the 1930s.
Unlike the comparatively new scientific method, the much older engineering method began five hundred thousand years ago.
Located in Chichibu, Japan, there is evidence of structural remains that date back 500,000 years. This is so far back that the structures were made by homo erectus, the direct ancestor of homo sapiens: Us.
Homo erectus, our direct ancestor, also built Terra Amata, a Lower Paleolithic site located in Nice, France, that’s between 200,000 and 400,000 years old.
Ohalo II (The Sea of Galilee) from 23,000 years ago, Tel Es-Sultan (West Bank, Palestine) from 12,000 years ago, with Mehrgarh (Bolan Pass, Pakistan) and Göbekli Tepe (Şanlıurfa, Turkey) both dating from 9,000 years ago, clearly shows the engineering method dates beyond the dawn of history.
The Results.
The six phases of engineering are:
Idea,
Concept,
Planning,
Design,
Development, and
Launch.
It is possible to work from the problem definition to the desired result, without changing a single aspect of a working formula. This is engineering.
The engineering method is different. It is a recursive, practical model which builds upon previously successful processes while also attempting new, and possibly improved, techniques: Recursion with minor adjustments.
In Conclusion.
While science focuses on understanding the natural world through systematic observation and experimentation, engineering applies practical knowledge to designing tangible solutions to problems. Both disciplines are vital for human progress, with engineering building upon practical knowledge, and science comparing theories to experimental results.
Until next time: Be safe, be kind, be awesome.