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> it's a process of optimization within a solution space bounded by constraints By that definition, almost any profession - from surgeons and taxi drivers to c
by herval 5y ago
> it's a process of optimization within a solution space bounded by constraints
By that definition, almost any profession - from surgeons and taxi drivers to construction workers and cooks - are all doing "engineering"?
- ironmagma 5y agoCategories are made up and don’t exist at the end of the day. Even the difference between marketer and engineer can be fuzzy.
- ameliaquining 5y agoUnless you're suggesting that the word "engineer" is entirely meaningless, this doesn't rebut the given objection to the proposed definition. If the word means anything at all, then the question has to be answered: Is the thing that it means that particular thing, or a different thing?
- beebmam 5y agoLiterally all categories describing real-world phenomena are fuzzy at their extremes. Reality itself is fuzzy at extremes
- eesmith 5y agoThen what job isn't engineering? By the definition given - "a process of optimization within a solution space bounded by constraints" - a taxi cab driver is certainly an engineer, with no fuzziness. Nor would it be an extreme case testing that fuzzy borders of that definition. And that's why herval disagrees with that definition. As do I. Definitions can also be overly broad, which is why we no longer use the term "star" to refer to planets, nor refer to the sun and moon as "planets". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet .
- ironmagma 5y agoWhile this is supposed to be an argumentum ad absurdum, it's quite great. Makes you consider that anything from dentistry to sanitation could really be thought of as similar to engineering and gives a nice healthy kick to the ego of an engineer.
- spion 5y agoYou are right. The output they work towards is a longer lasting item (system).
- raxxorrax 5y agoIn my region we always called softies lightweight engineers, although that term is proposed to be claimed by engineers in the field of energy and resources. I think it is still a good fit. Engineer is a very broad term, the knowledge of electrical and mechanical engineers overlap to some degree, but the focus is very distinct. Otherwise engineer is just a title too, so I guess it is mostly meaningless?
- ameliaquining 5y agoWhat's the difference between a lightweight engineer and the other kind?
- raxxorrax 5y agoThe engineering part is purely virtual for software developers I guess. While there is some basic physics in most curricula, most computer scientists are a bit "lightweight" on topics usually associated with engineering.
- ameliaquining 5y agoWhich other fields of engineering are "lightweight"? Industrial? Chemical?
- raxxorrax 5y agoNo, I guess it is only applied to computer science. Most people sort it more towards math than engineering.
- ameliaquining 5y ago"Computer science" is sort of a different thing and not necessarily engineering, even though the typical software engineer's formal degree is in "computer science" (and also people don't use the terminology totally consistently). But as for software engineering, I think the article makes a really solid case that electrical, chemical, and industrial engineering don't have anything relevant in common that software engineering doesn't, so putting the latter in a separate "lightweight engineering" category just isn't right.
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