This book is not intended to be a text-book, delineating the full scope of finite element methodology, nor is it a comprehensive handbook of modern finite element practice for the finite element engineer. There are enough books that serve to do these and more. It is however intended as a monograph or treatise on a very specific area - the design of robust and accurate elements for applications in struc- tural mechanics. It attempts to describe the epistemological conflict between the principles in finite element technology that can be described as Art and those that have a scientific basis...