An alloy is a substance that is formed by combining a metal with other metals, or nonmetals. For example, brass is an alloy of the metals copper and zinc, and steel is alloy of the metal iron with the nonmetal carbon. The special characteristics of metals, such as hardness, strength, flexibility, and weight are called its properties. By the process of alloying it is possible to create materials with the exact combinations of properties for particular use.

In the aircraft industry, there is a need for metals that are both strong and light. Steel is strong but too heavy, whereas aluminum is light but not strong. By mixing aluminum with copper and other metals, an alloy is created that is strong to withstand the stresses of flight, but light enough to reduce the cost of fuel to lift the aircraft.

There is an important difference between the alloys created by us and the combination of metals that occur accidentally as impure metals.. Both are mixtures, but alloys are mixtures that have been deliberately combined in specific proportions for definite purpose.

There is a misconception that people who belong to Oriental culture are inferior to those who belong to Occidental one. Academically, Asian students are outperforming their Americans counterparts at all levels. However, as adults, we are discovering ourselves falling short in the area of creativity and the ability to influence others, and the successful people are those who know how to exert influence on others. This is an area that is emphasized in a Western upbringing in the West, children are oriented to question authority by asking why, something which is not encouraged in Asian culture. At the same time, I think that the Western emphasis on creativity may have gone too far. On the other hand, in Asia there is too much stress on rote learning and drilling. It is found that Asian students in law school have trouble coming up with creative ideas. Ideally, we should take the best from both worlds.