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?"

Comments

Rejected yesterday, accepted today?

[whoever57]

I'll probably be down-modded for this, but: I'm pissed. I submitted this yesterday and it was rejected within 5 minutes. My writeup was very similar to the accepted submission, including a direct link to the original paper.

Attention! ZONK'S ACCOUNT HAS BEEN COMPROMISED

[Anonymous Coward]

That is my explanation. Ridiculous. Zonk, a few too many magic mushrooms on your pizza?

Re:is it April 1?

[Anonymous Coward]

Try letting the Chinese take over 1/3 of your entire city, ie Vancouver, and see what happens. Outright refusal to learn English, contempt for non-Chinese (particulary Indians/Pakistanis, for some reason), massive corruption, etc. Basically a wholesale import of modern China. Canadian multiculturalism = failure.

I hate to say it, but the Americans got immigration right, aside from the whole illegals thing.

Re:is it April 1?

[glitch23]

Until there is real social and economic changes in the middle east the countries will continue to breed extremists, because people without prospects for the future will always cause trouble.

I will probably offend some by saying this but sometimes the truth hurts, but this sounds quite like the problem in many inner-city neighborhoods where most of the crimes are committed in any given city. Without prospects what are teenagers and 20-somethings supposed to do beyond criminal activity? Of course, getting a job and staying off welfare would be the obvious choice but that seems to rarely happen. That's why many after-school activities help because they keep the kids off the streets and out of trouble. Proper education early helps but once they turn 18 it's their own responsibility to hang with the right crowd. It isn't a societal issue because not everyone from the inner city ends up in a gang or with a RAP sheet a mile long by age 18. It's a personal responsibility issue. In the Middle East it is nearly the same thing but it seems more widespread and harder to reverse the trend because it is more prevalent. There is only a small minority that do not conform to the mindset that the West is to blame for everything wrong with their lives. There are still people who take advantage of the situation and spread propaganda (bin Laden) which is why their situation isn't exactly the same as inner-city issues in the US.