5–1 WHY NUMERICAL METHODS?
The ready availability of high-speed computers and easy-to-use powerful software
packages has had a major impact on engineering education and practice
in recent years. Engineers in the past had to rely on analytical skills to solve
significant engineering problems, and thus they had to undergo a rigorous
training in mathematics. Today’s engineers, on the other hand, have access to
a tremendous amount of computation power under their fingertips, and they
mostly need to understand the physical nature of the problem and interpret the
results. But they also need to understand how calculations are performed by
the computers to develop an awareness of the processes involved and the limitations,
while avoiding any possible pitfalls.