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Engineer in a Box?

Posted by michael on from the i-love-the-smell-of-solder-in-the-morning dept.

Dr.Luke writes "Robert Lucky in a IEEE Spectrum Online article laments the state of today's engineering as progressively more removed from the "real" reality of tinkering and soldering "in a big musty laboratory" like Thomas Edison as engineers become more and more reliant on software tools and simulations. He fears that "math itself is slipping away into the wispy clouds of software that surround us" and that eventually engineers will be substituted by a bestselling software program Engineer-in-a-Box 2.0. What do you think?"

2 of 344 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Engineering is more difficult now by geekoid · · Score: 1, Redundant

    absolutly.
    assuming you replace "on the back of envelope" with "with a well educated team of electronic engineers who have the right computers and software for ther job."

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  2. an old story by negativethirsty · · Score: 0, Redundant

    reminds me of the story of the reited engineer. A company calls him after a year of retirement to repair a machine he designed and that the company relied on. He came back as a consultant and repaired it in a few minutes. Accounting dept freaked upon recieving a bill for $50,000.10 and said it must be itemized to justify such claims..

    1 screw---0.10
    knowing where to put it --- $50,000

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    thirsty*i^2

    "Ya I finished that last week, it just doesn't work"