During the last week of April 1989 the World Conference for Non-Destructive Testing (WCNDT) was held in Amsterdam. The amount of technology and knowledge available was of such a magnitude, that one could not possibly reflect accurately on every aspect of the technology exhibited. This paper attempts only to indicate trends and philosophies in the various NDT methods - namely, magnetic particle inspection, dye penetrant inspection, ultrasonic testing, radiographic testing and visual inspection.