Trust

(Header Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash)

As a student, you may have been like me and when anyone suggested "group work" you inwardly sighed. I had plenty of experience of being the one left to do the majority of the work, while my grade was brought down by others not pulling their weight (I admit - there were occassions when I was the weakest link and my grades were brought up by others. And I suspect now, with the benefit of hindsight, there were other times where I was oblivious to being the weakest link, but I digress ...)

I didn't like relying on others. I didn't "trust" others.

But, I believe, we, both as a species and also as engineers, rely on trust.  As an individual, we may survive without trust. But as a community and with trust, we can more easily thrive.

Gaslighting, falsehoods, FAKE NEWS, etc. all contribute to the loss of trust that we are having within our country. And with loss of trust, goes the loss of community. And a loss of community - be it national, local, in a particular political party, or in a group of like-minded individuals, etc, means we won't thrive.

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines trust as  "to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable"

We have ISO and other Standards so we know what parameters are being met, there are datasheets, which (usually) say what a component can do. Standards are fixed. I find I can trust that something is "safe and reliable" when it is backed by Standards, much more readily than I can trust a person. People need to earn my trust.

In the UK, for the engineering community, this is helped by the Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineers' Statement of Ethical Principles for the engineering profession.

Among other things it says engineers should:

• act in a reliable and trustworthy manner

• respect confidentiality

• avoid deception and take steps to prevent or report corrupt practices or professional misconduct

• reject bribery and improper influence

• ensure their work is lawful and justified

• always act with care

• not knowingly mislead or allow others to be misled

• be objective and truthful in any statement made in their professional capacity

Trust is essential. It's a currency that cannot be bought, and it can be lost quickly. But without it, I believe, we will be struggling and our progress, if any, will be slowed.