I think of economics as having the classic two sides of theory and practice, but with the quirk that the practice is grossly inefficient because it's a dynamic

I think of economics as having the classic two sides of theory and practice, but with the quirk that the practice is grossly inefficient because it's a dynamic feedback system based on itself. Engineering takes theoretical principles and pits them into practice. Here's what the free body diagram of a structure might be, but how do you ensure it stays up with abnormal conditions and a client who's going the extra mile to cut costs? Imagine if in engineering, constants changed the more precisely they were measured. pi is different in the USA because China measured it more precisely yesterday. Or if weather patterns changed to exploit the weaknesses of a building to maximize damage. I don't think econ is theoretically irrational, it's just that the application in the public eye is seldom isolated to simple, static systems. When applied to simple systems, I think econ is quite reasonable and makes accurate predictions.