gh (04/06/83)
Perhaps the prejudice that "scientists" have against "engineers" starts, like mine, in college. At the University of British Columbia, the engineers used to compete against the forestry students to see which group could be the most disruptive, disreputable, and disgusting. These activities were officially run by the student societies of each faculty -- they weren't just a lunatic fringe. A typical engineering joke was fire-hose or fire-extinguisher fighting in the corridors. Occasionally, they would just burst in on a lecture with the fire hoses. We in Computer Science, who had to share a building with these people, dreaded their rowdy weekly meetings (which often ended as described above), and the annual Engineering Week (lots more of the same, a newspaper intended to insult everyone on campus, the anti-feminist Lady Godiva ride, etc). They also used to pick on female computer science teachers who taught their programming courses -- at least two suffered greatly trying to teach them, and the lesson was that females could not be assigned to those courses. I have no reason to think that the UBC engineers were any different from those at any other school with a large engineering section. And if they are completely disrespectable in college, why should we expect them to change after graduation? Re the question of "Engineers can't spell" (to rabbit!lucius): A working-class background is hardly an excuse -- if you made it out of college, you should have had remedial work if necessary. The problem is, I think, that too many engineers aren't interested in bothering about correct spelling. Graeme Hirst, Brown University Computer Science gh.brown@udel-relay !decvax!brunix!gh
sher (04/07/83)
The engineers I met at Yale were on the whole quiet classy people. Of course I don't meet (or remember) everyone (a sample of 5 is about it) and of course these were Yalies (a clearly superior class of people) but anyway engineers are not extremely roudy everywhere. -David Sher (ofttimes AI project)
dan (04/08/83)
In reference to the statement: "The problem is, I think, that too many engineers aren't interested in bothering about correct spelling." Perhaps they feel it is ok as long as they are "close enough."
ld (04/09/83)
All engineers know that they have to allow a 20% leeway in their
calculations to allow for component tolerance. It should
surprise no one to see one word in five misspelled.
Larry Dwyerwombat (04/10/83)
#R:brunix:-222900:uicsl:4400001:000:524 uicsl!wombat Apr 9 13:33:00 1983 I don't think it's fair for you to assume that all engineering schools are just like UCB. I have never seen anything like what you described here at the U. of Illinois. Engineering Open House isn't a rowdy affair, and the green Boneyard is just something to watch for every year. As for your other points, I am a woman who has been studying engineering here for almost six years, and I have seen very little sexism. Also, unlike many "scientists" on the net, I have a good working knowledge of English grammar and spelling.
esj (04/15/83)
Having read about the behaviour of eng. students at various schools, I feel that I should mention my own Alma Mater, Northwestern U. in Evanston, Illinois. I remember the engineering students as being just about the same as anyone else on campus. Engineering Week had no more parties than any other week and the culmination was the Tech Open House. Animalistic behaviour was generally confined to the Delt and DU parties. Engineers WERE however looked down on because the prevalent opinion was that they were all nerds (we called 'em "Weens" ,which was a hangover from long ago when the Technological Institute was in Swift Hall - as in hotdogs - as in weenies.), this idea having been implanted by several of their tribe roaming about with white socks, calculators on their belts, coke bottle glasses, and crewcuts. Part of that may have been sour grapes though because the engineers were the ones that always got ridiculously high (at that time) starting salaries. Sold out and joined 'em, JCJ CAS '78