davidf,

"In designing anything we have the objective criterion that it must work well and be easy to repair if something goes wrong"

With an outlook like that you wouldn't have got a position with a lot of car makers, "....and be easy to repair...." is a serious 'no-no'. (smiley !!)

Hi (again) DAVID F...

DAVID in my own quite finite interpretation, I would NOT call you an academic, more scientist. It is for this reason, and the fact that I'm not very skilled at clearly enunciating my own thoughts, I often (more by misadventure rather than intent) put my size 11's squarely in my mouth ! Scientist or academic - a rose by any other name. Perhaps not in my book at least ?

To be perfectly honest with you, your three disciplines of study, I'd have enormous difficulty even spelling them, let alone having any appreciation of their precise application. In fact so 'dense' am I, when the police department started introducing computers into the job, myself and a large number of my peer group (including quite a number of senior officers) were required to attend remedial classes just to understand even the very basic applications involved. And how to complete the many 'time-saving' templates that had been designed to aid us ?

Attempting to prise many of us, away from the old manual 'Olivetti' and our little bottle of 'Tipex' correction fluid, was a job in itself ? Imagine if you will, these large cranky old coppers, all frantically trying to maintain control of their favourite manual typewriters ? Must have been a very amusing sight to all concerned ? Even today at 75 years of age, all I can manage, is send a few Emails, and the occasional EBay transaction ?

In fact it's my dear wife who handles all the other mysteries that manage to confound me most of the time ? It's she who courageously stands in front of the window, when in a fit of pique, I threaten to throw the damn thing through it !

The above will surely confirm for all time, the level of my own rank stupidity and academic deficiencies. So there you are ? In my book you're a scientist, and without that venerable group, our world, our human advancement would remain essentially, static and without a future ?

Thank you for sharing that information with us all.

@ Paul

<<I was shocked to read today that as far back as 2000 Iranian police had asked Australia to extradite Monis to that country over a number of violent crimes there, Australia refused, no doubt as Iran was not the political flavor then and there could have been some political considerations in that decision.>>

ROFLMAO

<< Iran was not the political flavor then and there could have been some political considerations in that decision.>>

Duh!

All his taxpayer funded legal team would have had to say is -- his life was in danger --and SBS, the ABC and the Greens would have launched a SAVE POOR MONIS campaign