ABSTRACT
Enculturation seems an apt term to refer to the social process whereby the young technical man becomes transformed, or transforms himself, into an established industrial researcher. To simplify a complex matter, the logic of science induces researchers to seek the limits of generality of particular theories, while the logic of business enterprise requires specification of sufficient conditions under which a dependable effect can be produced. The effect has been isolated, a conflict can occur if a scientifically minded researcher seeks the most parsimonious explanation for his observations while a company-oriented manager urges immediate investigation of feasibility under given restrictions of dimensions and cost. The pure researcher, the applied researcher, and the design engineer all face this central question of enculturation, but their differences may be regarded as ones of degree rather than of kind. The description of enculturation pertains more to men and activities near the middle of the continuum than to those at either end.
