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Slightly off topic but I was watching a television show the other day and someone said they worked at NASA. The host then said "So you're literally a rocket sci

by throwaway2016a 11y ago

Slightly off topic but I was watching a television show the other day and someone said they worked at NASA. The host then said "So you're literally a rocket scientist?" And the guy said emphatically "Rocket engineer, there is a big difference" I'm sure this particular task probably was a little bit of both. After all, they had to run several real world experiments to prove their calculations.

taneq 11y ago
It's important to know the difference: https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 The most interesting work is right in the intersection of the two disciplines, though. :)
- ck2 11y ago
  xkcd needs to make one for that too https://xkcd.com/435/ https://xkcd.com/435/ I guess "purity" is just another word for "lack of immediately applied practicality"
  - LanguageGamer 11y ago
    Coincidentally, today's smbc is on the distinction http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102
larrydag 11y ago
Here's a reason why that guy answered it that way. Note these are my definitions but I've heard it before. Scientist: Studies and uncovers mysteries of the universe and natural world Engineer: Applies what scientists discovers
- _dark_matter_ 11y ago
  Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome
  - forgotpwagain 11y ago
    There's also experimentation to generate hypotheses. I.e., let's sequence the genomes of healthy people and the genomes of people with some disease and see if there is a difference. It's possible to argue that the implicit hypothesis there is that there is some sort of difference, but that is a particularly weak hypothesis compared to the specificity of hypotheses that can be formed once we have this pile of data -- i.e maybe X, Y, Z differences are important in this disease.
  - jsrjenkins 11y ago
    Aristotle put it this way: Science is the knowing of things by their causes. Science is the putting into knowledge what is in reality. Engineering [which he would call techne, from which we get the word 'technology'] is the art of putting ideas into reality. It is putting what is in our knowledge into the real world. Thus they are perfectly complementary things, one bringing the world into ideas, the other ideas into the world.
  - a-priori 11y ago
    "In science if you know what you are doing you should not be doing it. In engineering if you do not know what you are doing you should not be doing it. Of course, you seldom, if ever, see the pure state." - Richard Hamming
- ithkuil 11y ago
  if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?
- jerf 11y ago
  One thing I'd point out is that your model ought to include that engineering also quite often is forced to run ahead of science, too. Engineers don't have the luxury of waiting until science nails down every last parameter, Julius Ceasar wants his aqueduct now, and materials science isn't going to be around to help for another 1800 years or so.... and that's just an example, it happens all the time even today.
- easygenes 11y ago
  I think it's more... Sciencing: Uncovering mysteries about the world. Engineering: Applying such discoveries. Scientist: Predominantly sciences. Engineer: Predominantly engineers. There's so much overlap it would make sense for C.V.s of either to include a % science/engineering to suss out their own feel for both history and preference of activity.
stcredzero 11y ago
A friend of mine in Houston Texas had a bumper sticker that said, "Yes, I'm literally a Rocket Scientist!" He had a degree in physics and maintained the software that tracked the Space Shuttle's trajectory.

taneq 11y ago

It's important to know the difference: https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/r6oEhvS.jpg?1 The most interesting work is right in the intersection of the two disciplines, though. :)

ck2 11y ago
xkcd needs to make one for that too https://xkcd.com/435/ https://xkcd.com/435/ I guess "purity" is just another word for "lack of immediately applied practicality"
- LanguageGamer 11y ago
  Coincidentally, today's smbc is on the distinction http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102 http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?id=4102

larrydag 11y ago

Here's a reason why that guy answered it that way. Note these are my definitions but I've heard it before. Scientist: Studies and uncovers mysteries of the universe and natural world Engineer: Applies what scientists discovers

_dark_matter_ 11y ago
Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome
- forgotpwagain 11y ago
  There's also experimentation to generate hypotheses. I.e., let's sequence the genomes of healthy people and the genomes of people with some disease and see if there is a difference. It's possible to argue that the implicit hypothesis there is that there is some sort of difference, but that is a particularly weak hypothesis compared to the specificity of hypotheses that can be formed once we have this pile of data -- i.e maybe X, Y, Z differences are important in this disease.
- jsrjenkins 11y ago
  Aristotle put it this way: Science is the knowing of things by their causes. Science is the putting into knowledge what is in reality. Engineering [which he would call techne, from which we get the word 'technology'] is the art of putting ideas into reality. It is putting what is in our knowledge into the real world. Thus they are perfectly complementary things, one bringing the world into ideas, the other ideas into the world.
- a-priori 11y ago
  "In science if you know what you are doing you should not be doing it. In engineering if you do not know what you are doing you should not be doing it. Of course, you seldom, if ever, see the pure state." - Richard Hamming
ithkuil 11y ago
if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?
jerf 11y ago
One thing I'd point out is that your model ought to include that engineering also quite often is forced to run ahead of science, too. Engineers don't have the luxury of waiting until science nails down every last parameter, Julius Ceasar wants his aqueduct now, and materials science isn't going to be around to help for another 1800 years or so.... and that's just an example, it happens all the time even today.
easygenes 11y ago
I think it's more... Sciencing: Uncovering mysteries about the world. Engineering: Applying such discoveries. Scientist: Predominantly sciences. Engineer: Predominantly engineers. There's so much overlap it would make sense for C.V.s of either to include a % science/engineering to suss out their own feel for both history and preference of activity.

stcredzero 11y ago

A friend of mine in Houston Texas had a bumper sticker that said, "Yes, I'm literally a Rocket Scientist!" He had a degree in physics and maintained the software that tracked the Space Shuttle's trajectory.