design before FEA existed :) I always love seeing some of the more senior engineers I've worked with (ie - they're been degreed engineers longer than I've been alive) scratch out some rough estimates on performance/strength/etc on paper in a few minutes and get an answer that isn't too far from the result that a more in depth analysis gives.
Sometime I feel like my generation of engineers have been spoiled with CAD/CFD/FEA and that we tend to lack the skills to make those quick napkin estimates to get a ballpark idea of where to start with a design :/
