Engineer's poetry

[Poet of the Raritan]

This might be a bit late, since all the excitement over eigenvalue etc has
died down, but....

I ran across this quote in _GR_ which seems topical to the discussion,
particularly the debate between Meanig of the eigen or just a kind of
eigen-joke.

	"The name?"
	"There's a poetry to it, engineer's poetry...it suggests
Haverie--average, you know--certainly you have the two lobes, don't you,
symmetrical about the rocket's intended azimuth...hauen, too--smashing
someone with a how or a club..." off on a voyage of his own here, smiling at
no one in particular, bringing in the popular wartime expression ab-hauen,
quarterstaff technique, peasant humor, phallic comedy dating back to the
ancient Greeks..."  (Viking p. 207)

This seems just the type of interpreting which was happening, which we all
like to engage in :love of the Word."  It isn't explaining eigenvalue per se,
but then can't we all find enough Connections to fill the gap----  ;)

Jason