The second weekly theme I'm going to try is what I'll call "Technology Thursday" for now. I know it doesn't have quite the same ring as "Technology Tuesday" would, but I didn't want to have Hockey Monday and Technology Tuesday and then have nothing else the rest of the week. That, and I have grad school on Tuesday nights, so until there's a Thursday conflict, it's Technology Thursday.
Technology Thursday will be a weekly post that might contain a video, an article, or just me ranting about a particular technology. It doesn't have to be anything brand new, and I'll try to give an engineer's perspective on things. That way, you're not just learning something second hand, you're experiencing something through the eyes of a 23 year-old electrical engineer.
For the first installment, I'd just like to set some ground work on the engineering mindset. For non-engineers, engineering is often considered a pretty broad subject in which you use a lot of math and science. I tend to agree, but with a few additions. Engineering is not just math and science, in that we don't just sit around and plug variables into formulas and get results. There are plenty of jobs for that. Engineers are problem solvers.
What I like to think a good engineering education entails is more than just learning the mathematical and scientific principles one needs to know to solve a problem. You also need to learn how to think like an engineer. When something comes up at work, it usually doesn't involve a great deal of math. Oftentimes, it's a puzzle. If you were unfamiliar with some of the finer aspects, you could probably still come up with a solution. Engineering, in the industry, involves a tremendous amount of communication skills and group work. If you just sit in a classroom all the time writing down formulas, you're not getting as much out of your education as you should.
But most engineers take this beyond just work. I was at a bonfire last Friday with a fellow engineer (I happened to be on a date, as well). After things were set ablaze and the embers were floating towards Heaven, she said to me: "I can't help but thinking of thermodynamics when I look at that fire." That is thinking like an engineer. You look at the science behind things, and often you seek out problems. My uncle, a software engineer, and I have had many discussions on various subjects, and find it thrilling to take (mostly technological) problems and engineer up some solutions. It's a lot like a hobby. You can call it being an absolute nerd, but if it's fun to do, who really cares?
Engineers, in general, tend to like to apply logic in all aspects of life. It ultimately depends on what sort of engineer you are, but I believe I fit into that category. I will look at an argument and try to break it down into its logical elements. Lawyers do this all the time, but it's very much an engineering practice, as well.
Well, that's it for now. Look for Volume 2 next week in the brand new Technology Thursday.
Technology Thursday will be a weekly post that might contain a video, an article, or just me ranting about a particular technology. It doesn't have to be anything brand new, and I'll try to give an engineer's perspective on things. That way, you're not just learning something second hand, you're experiencing something through the eyes of a 23 year-old electrical engineer.
For the first installment, I'd just like to set some ground work on the engineering mindset. For non-engineers, engineering is often considered a pretty broad subject in which you use a lot of math and science. I tend to agree, but with a few additions. Engineering is not just math and science, in that we don't just sit around and plug variables into formulas and get results. There are plenty of jobs for that. Engineers are problem solvers.
What I like to think a good engineering education entails is more than just learning the mathematical and scientific principles one needs to know to solve a problem. You also need to learn how to think like an engineer. When something comes up at work, it usually doesn't involve a great deal of math. Oftentimes, it's a puzzle. If you were unfamiliar with some of the finer aspects, you could probably still come up with a solution. Engineering, in the industry, involves a tremendous amount of communication skills and group work. If you just sit in a classroom all the time writing down formulas, you're not getting as much out of your education as you should.
But most engineers take this beyond just work. I was at a bonfire last Friday with a fellow engineer (I happened to be on a date, as well). After things were set ablaze and the embers were floating towards Heaven, she said to me: "I can't help but thinking of thermodynamics when I look at that fire." That is thinking like an engineer. You look at the science behind things, and often you seek out problems. My uncle, a software engineer, and I have had many discussions on various subjects, and find it thrilling to take (mostly technological) problems and engineer up some solutions. It's a lot like a hobby. You can call it being an absolute nerd, but if it's fun to do, who really cares?
Engineers, in general, tend to like to apply logic in all aspects of life. It ultimately depends on what sort of engineer you are, but I believe I fit into that category. I will look at an argument and try to break it down into its logical elements. Lawyers do this all the time, but it's very much an engineering practice, as well.
Well, that's it for now. Look for Volume 2 next week in the brand new Technology Thursday.
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