Sometimes, where a complex problem can be illuminated by many tools, one can be forgiven for applying the one he knows best. - Robert E. Machol

The ideal system engineer is an engineer thoroughly versed in his field but conversant with and knowledgeable of other fields. You have to have the capability and desire to become a 'six-month expert'... You've got to want to become a generalist, too.

Everyone knows what engineering is. All that's left is to define systems, and I'm not fool enough to do that.

Every large-scale system is an . The automatic factory, the vehicular-traffic system, any military system- in the design of all these systems, primary attention should be given to the flow of information about the elements of the system.