Re: software?

On Feb 17, 2006, at 4:27 PM, Conner, Randy wrote:

> The question now proposed by this article is, "is it ethical to use
> computer software to solve a problem if you cannot complete the
> calculations manually?"

We've beat on variations of this same question a lot on this list. The question has a lot broader scope than just an ethical issue. Ethics only come into play if there's a moral issue. Your student (who must have been extraordinarily stupid) would have only been unethical if he were told to do it on his own and he got help, or perhaps if he'd lied and said he actually knew what to do when he didn't.

Your question addresses the use of a tool and whether it's ethical to use the tool to accomplish work you can't accomplish without the tool. For example, is it ethical to use a bumper jack to change a tire if you can't lift your car without the jack? The answer to that is obviously, 'Yes, it is, if only because ethics has nothing to do with it.' If you were to ask whether it's ethical to use a bumper jack to remove a tire from someone else's car and make off with it, then the answer is that it's unethical whether you use a jack or whether you lift the car barehanded.

The real question I think you're addressing is whether an individual should be using a tool if he doesn't understand what the tool does. The answer here isn't unequivocal. If the individual poses no danger to to life or property, then it really doesn't matter what he does. Some tools, like a chain saw, do pose a definite hazard, and a stupid person shouldn't be allowed to use one. If your student was looking to determine whether a particular crane capacity exceeded the weight of a load of pipe, his ignorance poses a threat to persons nearby, and he shouldn't be doing that job in the first place, computerized or manual arithmetic notwithstanding.

Christopher Wright P.E. |"They couldn't hit an elephant at chrisw@skypoint.com | this distance" (last words of Gen.

.......................................| John Sedgwick, Spotsylvania