I had the same reaction to the comment though I don't think I disagree with you. I think it was referring to engineering as simple rather than just calling the

I had the same reaction to the comment though I don't think I disagree with you. I think it was referring to engineering as simple rather than just calling the science and even a proof of concept as being relatively simple. Reducing the amount of steel used in a bridge or a building is part of engineering. The Concorde wasn’t just a failure to understand what level of demand the world economy could support, it was that they didn’t solve the problems necessary to make it viable at scale. In that way it was not a complete product, it was a proof of concept. Or, another example, it is not market dynamics alone that have changed the economics of what’s feasible with transistors. It is engineering that has made them viable at a massive scale.