Slashdot Mirror


Engineers Have a Terrorist Mindset?

An anonymous reader writes "Do engineers have a way of looking at the world not all that different from terrorists? According to an article in the EE Times, they do. The story cites 'Engineers of Jihad,' a paper (pdf download) by two Oxford University sociologists, who found that graduates in science, engineering, and medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements. The paper also found that engineers are 'over-represented' among graduates who gravitate to violent groups. Authors Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog chalk this all up to what they call the 'engineering mindset,' which they define as 'a mindset that inclines them to take more extreme conservative and religious positions.' Is this just pop psychology masquerading as science?"

8 of 837 comments (clear)

  1. Engineer and Terrorist are slightly similar. by binaryspiral · · Score: 5, Funny

    Engineer's mindset: "What makes this thing tick"

    Terrorist's mindset: "I know why this thing is ticking"

    1. Re:Engineer and Terrorist are slightly similar. by geminidomino · · Score: 5, Funny

      Liberal Arts Mindset: "If they make me clean out the fry vats again, I'm gonna burn this fucking place down..."

  2. Terrorist? No, I'm from Mars. by Dr.+Eggman · · Score: 5, Funny

    We engineers aren't the most proactive types, we tend to sit next to the flag, banging away on our defenses and designing new weapons in our heads. Oh, and watching out for those dog-gone spies.

    --
    Demented But Determined.
  3. Re:Rejected yesterday, accepted today? by superdave80 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Great, a pissed of /.er. How long till he blows something up now?

  4. There you have it. by fstolze · · Score: 5, Funny

    This clearly underlines why math, science and engineering must be eradicated from the US educational system.

  5. How sociologists do science by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Take a frog, and yell JUMP!
    The frog jumps.

    Now, cut off one of its legs and yell JUMP!
    The frog jumps, but not as far.

    Now, cut off the other leg and yell JUMP!
    The frog does not jump.

    Conclusion: The amputee frog is deaf.
    Abstract: For centuries, science has been mystified by how frogs hear without ears. Our recent work has at last resolved this long standing mystery by showing that in frogs, the ability to hear is closely correlated to the number of legs present on the frog. The hearing organ's location in the frog's legs explains the absence of any ears at their expected location. In future studies, we will determine if the frog's hearing apparatus is in fact located on the frog's feet, as is suspected from their ear-like morphology.

  6. Re:is it April 1? by Alsee · · Score: 5, Funny

    Other than a strange obsession with Cricket

    Damn foriegners and their freaky strange obsessions.
    Ooooo! Gotta run..... I think Brittney shaved her head again!

    -

    --
    - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
  7. Re:Why not? by MrMarket · · Score: 5, Funny

    You could also say: "Men without girlfriends are over represented in terrorist groups."