As a mechanical engineer I of course studied what CNCs (Computer Numeric Control ) could do.

Fine precision cutting of metals.

 

Now so many years later as a software professional I ofcourse 

forgot all about CNCs. 

 

Until recently when I visited Point Lobos Reserve state park in Carmel, CA. Scientists used sonar to find depths of various points in the ocean.

CNCs were used to cut out mold, concrete was poured to recreate a 3D map of the continental shelf.

No need of painstaking gathering of data, to contour the maps by hand!

 

As a young Mechanical engineer, I could have never dreamt of applying CNCs in this fashion. 

Many years later, I can now appreciate - Leaps of faith -  can propel science and technology to a boundless realm of discovery.

 

Between past and future, however, it is worth mentioning that I marvelled at CNC's in as much awe as I did at ENIAC (world's first computer) at Penn, where I finished graduate studies in Computer science.