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Experimentation is key to breaking new grounds in almost any field of work, but that doesn’t mean you should try anything. Similarly, efficiency engineer Harrington Emerson strongly believed in the correlation between principles and methods.

The man who grasps principles can successfully handle his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.

– Harrington Emerson

Born in the mid 1800s, Emerson was not only an engineer at heart, but also a business theorist. He contributed heavily to scientific management, and he was the founder of the management consultancy firm Emerson Institute in New York (in the 1900s).

His life’s archetype was the setting up of standards, an ideal born from witnessing French character and German military efficiency, according to Wikipedia. Emerson honed his admiration for systematic method and perfect cooperation thanks to a talented European musician and by observing the results of horse breeding. His work was also influenced by a certain A. B. Smith, who is said to have been a skillful railroad surveyor.

If we were to pick one science where Emerson’s advice fits like a glove, it would have to be chemistry. Not knowing the first thing about the substances you’re going to mix can have devastating consequences. Physics is a field equally prone to experimentation gone bad. Bottom line, if you’re aspiring to be an engineer, remember this golden rule while performing your scientific tests.