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I don’t think people necessarily love narratives that blame engineers. Why would they? Some specific people in positions of responsibility that screw up badly

I don’t think people necessarily love narratives that blame engineers. Why would they? Some specific people in positions of responsibility that screw up badly see blaming engineers/tech as an easy way out of their responsibilities. Similar outcome different thing.

tedunangst 6y ago
Yes, people love stories like the space pen vs the pencil. The supposedly educated engineer getting shown up by the clever average joe with common sense. There's always someone smarter than you, but see well actually they're not that smart because they're not street smart.
- to11mtm 6y ago
  > Yes, people love stories like the space pen vs the pencil. The supposedly educated engineer getting shown up by the clever average joe with common sense. There's always someone smarter than you, but see well actually they're not that smart because they're not street smart. And yet that classic example is also an example of people really not understanding the nuance of larger systems; in that specific case, there were concerns about graphite creating electrical issues in the ship's electrical systems.
  - tedunangst 6y ago
    Surprise twist: the engineers aren't all stupid.
jcims 6y ago
Not engineers broadly or specifically, but I do think many people find a bit of schadenfreude when an overly confident expert is found to be wrong.
- itronitron 6y ago
  The twist with software engineering though is that the overly confident people tend to be the non-experts, who then blame the engineers for having poor communication skills.
itronitron 6y ago
I think it is similar to how certain people always feel they are being ripped off by their car mechanic. They were told one thing by marketing/sales and then reality turns out to be more nuanced.
- Veen 6y ago
  Except that people are quite often ripped off by car mechanics. Whenever there is an information asymmetry some proportion of the individuals with more knowledge will take advantage of it. I know nothing about cars, so when a mechanic tells me my car needs a $1000 repair, I have to take them at their word or get a second opinion, which is usually more effort than I'm prepared to expend. That sort of imbalance is irresistible to some people in all walks of life, including auto-repair, sales, and engineering.

tedunangst 6y ago

Yes, people love stories like the space pen vs the pencil. The supposedly educated engineer getting shown up by the clever average joe with common sense. There's always someone smarter than you, but see well actually they're not that smart because they're not street smart.

to11mtm 6y ago
> Yes, people love stories like the space pen vs the pencil. The supposedly educated engineer getting shown up by the clever average joe with common sense. There's always someone smarter than you, but see well actually they're not that smart because they're not street smart. And yet that classic example is also an example of people really not understanding the nuance of larger systems; in that specific case, there were concerns about graphite creating electrical issues in the ship's electrical systems.
- tedunangst 6y ago
  Surprise twist: the engineers aren't all stupid.

jcims 6y ago

Not engineers broadly or specifically, but I do think many people find a bit of schadenfreude when an overly confident expert is found to be wrong.

itronitron 6y ago
The twist with software engineering though is that the overly confident people tend to be the non-experts, who then blame the engineers for having poor communication skills.

itronitron 6y ago

I think it is similar to how certain people always feel they are being ripped off by their car mechanic. They were told one thing by marketing/sales and then reality turns out to be more nuanced.

Veen 6y ago
Except that people are quite often ripped off by car mechanics. Whenever there is an information asymmetry some proportion of the individuals with more knowledge will take advantage of it. I know nothing about cars, so when a mechanic tells me my car needs a $1000 repair, I have to take them at their word or get a second opinion, which is usually more effort than I'm prepared to expend. That sort of imbalance is irresistible to some people in all walks of life, including auto-repair, sales, and engineering.