3 ms·

Though we don't know how many of these people have any experience with electronics, one says they are a mechanical engineer, perhaps the others are chemists or

Though we don't know how many of these people have any experience with electronics, one says they are a mechanical engineer, perhaps the others are chemists or economics or any number of non science majors. This is a bit disturbing, though one who said they needed another wire seems kind of like they were just not thinking outside of the box, and I think with a table more could do it. I would also bet that more could do it but weren't shown on camera. Overall I do believe that this is a problem and more common than one would think. I recall, as a computer science undergrad, when I was doing my senior thesis (which was a low level project), that I mentioned a trouble was with pulse width modulation on the board I was using. And I was rather surprised (shocked really) how so many computer science majors (who at minimum would have taken some physics, and also a basic electronics course) did not know what basic electronics things like pulse width modulation worked, or how a servo worked, as these were things I picked up as kid for fun.

pjmlp 5y ago
Did not watch the video, but it really feels strange to me, basic electronics used to be common to all degrees on the university, only on the second year did it get specialised into each specific degree. So a lame Portuguese university does better than MIT?
HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
While I get your overall point, I'd hardly consider pulse-width modulation as "basic electronics." IIRC, I first encountered it in a senior-year EE Communications Theory class as a subset of Duty-Cycle Modulation. And I have to assume when you say "how a servo worked" that you don't mean how to analyze a servomechanism or feedback control system (Bode plots & root locus, anyone?), but how to control an R/C servo. Sure, it's common for hobbyists using R/C servos to know the term these days, but I can't really consider that universal knowledge. I'd be pretty impressed if a CS interview candidate even knew what an RC servo was.
- bcrl 5y ago
  The 555 timer IC book I got when I was a kid in the 1980s taught me about pulse width modulation when I was less only 10 or 11 years old. Granted, I had a father who was an electronics technician that got me started with a Radio Shack 101 electronics kit. While such knowledge is quite accessible on the internet these days, there's just so much more high level knowledge that people are driven towards, it's not surprising that many of the basics are missed. The level of complexity in modern devices makes it nearly impossible to tinker with them, and you can't salvage surface mount parts as easily as discrete components once made electronics accessible. Gone are the days when most electronic devices shipped with schematics and were eminently hackable.

pjmlp 5y ago

Did not watch the video, but it really feels strange to me, basic electronics used to be common to all degrees on the university, only on the second year did it get specialised into each specific degree. So a lame Portuguese university does better than MIT?

HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago

While I get your overall point, I'd hardly consider pulse-width modulation as "basic electronics." IIRC, I first encountered it in a senior-year EE Communications Theory class as a subset of Duty-Cycle Modulation. And I have to assume when you say "how a servo worked" that you don't mean how to analyze a servomechanism or feedback control system (Bode plots & root locus, anyone?), but how to control an R/C servo. Sure, it's common for hobbyists using R/C servos to know the term these days, but I can't really consider that universal knowledge. I'd be pretty impressed if a CS interview candidate even knew what an RC servo was.

bcrl 5y ago
The 555 timer IC book I got when I was a kid in the 1980s taught me about pulse width modulation when I was less only 10 or 11 years old. Granted, I had a father who was an electronics technician that got me started with a Radio Shack 101 electronics kit. While such knowledge is quite accessible on the internet these days, there's just so much more high level knowledge that people are driven towards, it's not surprising that many of the basics are missed. The level of complexity in modern devices makes it nearly impossible to tinker with them, and you can't salvage surface mount parts as easily as discrete components once made electronics accessible. Gone are the days when most electronic devices shipped with schematics and were eminently hackable.