3 ms·

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 u

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_ 10y ago
Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome
- forgotpwagain 10y 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 10y 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 10y 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 10y ago
if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?
jerf 10y 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 10y 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.

_dark_matter_ 10y ago

Eh, I think it's simpler than that: Scientist: Unknown outcome (e.g. hypothesis -> experimentation) Engineer: Known (or should be) outcome

forgotpwagain 10y 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 10y 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 10y 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 10y ago

if the devil is in the details isn't the devil an engineer?

jerf 10y 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 10y 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.