Aside from being a great scientist, Albert Einstein was also a pretty good philosopher (e.g. "God does not play dice with the universe," "reality is just an illusion-but a very persistent one!"). Concerning the shortcomings of formal education-including his own-he was once quoted as saying, "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." This insight is particularly relevant whereby the permeability of building materials is concerned.
My own education in architecture (20 years ago) taught my peers and me little about this important aspect of architectural design and building construction. As it turns out, researching this article was to be my real education on the subject of permeability. It appears old Al was spot-on right about relativity and formal education.