The current issue of EE Times has an interesting article on some characteristics of engineer's brains. It appears that comp.dsp denizens are likely to be "highly systemizing" or "hypersystemizing", that there are inherited physiological brain characteristics that go with this, and this is also linked to a higher incidence of autism in the children of engineers. It's in the June 19, 2006 edition, Page 12. At least part of it is available on-line at http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189401732 There are some sidebars in the print edition that don't seem to appear on-line. I found it quite interesting and it helps show how different people with different brain characteristics tend toward different careers. We're special. ;) Eric Jacobsen Minister of Algorithms, Intel Corp. My opinions may not be Intel's opinions. http://www.ericjacobsen.org
EE Times article on engineer brains.
Started by ●June 21, 2006
Reply by ●June 21, 20062006-06-21
Eric Jacobsen wrote:>[snip] > > I found it quite interesting and it helps show how different people > with different brain characteristics tend toward different careers. > > We're special. ;) >at least one of us are brain damaged -- I've personal med records ;] I always like to pull one upmanship by saying "I'm brain damaged. what's YOUR excuse?" then again my mother oft said while I was teenager "WHY did I call the nurse?" -- related to me stopping breathing several times in 1st week ;)
Reply by ●June 21, 20062006-06-21
in article lb5j92dq7gc4fl3bv6e2jjpmq2cbarp3de@4ax.com, Eric Jacobsen at eric.jacobsen@ieee.org wrote on 06/21/2006 15:03:> The current issue of EE Times has an interesting article on some > characteristics of engineer's brains. It appears that comp.dsp > denizens are likely to be "highly systemizing" or "hypersystemizing", > that there are inherited physiological brain characteristics that go > with this, and this is also linked to a higher incidence of autism in > the children of engineers.holy fucking shit! and i thought it was just me being anal (and we have a kid that we're thinking might be asperger's). so what else is new? -- r b-j rbj@audioimagination.com "Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Reply by ●June 21, 20062006-06-21
robert bristow-johnson wrote:> in article lb5j92dq7gc4fl3bv6e2jjpmq2cbarp3de@4ax.com, Eric Jacobsen at > eric.jacobsen@ieee.org wrote on 06/21/2006 15:03: > >> The current issue of EE Times has an interesting article on some >> characteristics of engineer's brains. It appears that comp.dsp >> denizens are likely to be "highly systemizing" or "hypersystemizing", >> that there are inherited physiological brain characteristics that go >> with this, and this is also linked to a higher incidence of autism in >> the children of engineers. > > holy fucking shit! > > and i thought it was just me being anal (and we have a kid that we're > thinking might be asperger's). > > so what else is new?There's good reason to hope for the best. My Asperger's grandson was on the dean's list four semesters of community college and has a full-tuition scholarship and work-study aid to finish up at a four-year college. He was sent to me to raise in his second year of high school, and while I made more mistakes than I like to remember, I'm proud of what we both did. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
Reply by ●June 21, 20062006-06-21
Eric Jacobsen wrote:> We're special. ;) > > Eric Jacobsen > Minister of Algorithms, Intel Corp.You are now entitled to add "High Systemizer" to your job title. Martin -- Dogs are sons of bitches.
Reply by ●June 21, 20062006-06-21
Eric Jacobsen wrote:> The current issue of EE Times has an interesting article on some > characteristics of engineer's brains. It appears that comp.dsp > denizens are likely to be "highly systemizing" or "hypersystemizing", > that there are inherited physiological brain characteristics that go > with this, and this is also linked to a higher incidence of autism in > the children of engineers. > > It's in the June 19, 2006 edition, Page 12. At least part of it is > available on-line at > > http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189401732 > > There are some sidebars in the print edition that don't seem to appear > on-line. > > I found it quite interesting and it helps show how different people > with different brain characteristics tend toward different careers. > > We're special. ;) > > Eric Jacobsen > Minister of Algorithms, Intel Corp. > My opinions may not be Intel's opinions. > http://www.ericjacobsen.orgOf course an engineer needs special mental qualities. They must be smart enough to do the work, yet dumb enough to want to. :-) Steve
Reply by ●June 22, 20062006-06-22
Steve Underwood wrote:> [...] > Of course an engineer needs special mental qualities. They must be smart > enough to do the work, yet dumb enough to want to. :-)Absolutely. Rick Lyons and I were philosophizing the other day why my electrician can charge more per hour than we do building DSP systems that make companys millions. <bang><bang><bang><bang>...
Reply by ●June 22, 20062006-06-22
Randy Yates wrote:> Steve Underwood wrote: > > [...] > > Of course an engineer needs special mental qualities. They must be smart > > enough to do the work, yet dumb enough to want to. :-) > > Absolutely. Rick Lyons and I were philosophizing the other day > why my electrician can charge more per hour than we do building > DSP systems that make companys millions. > > <bang><bang><bang><bang>...Hell, my wife's cleaning lady charges more per hour than I make. I'd complain but then I'd have to do the cleaning. OTOH, I do my own electrical work so I guess it evens out. Ken
Reply by ●June 22, 20062006-06-22
Ken Asbury wrote:> Randy Yates wrote: > > Steve Underwood wrote: > > > [...] > > > Of course an engineer needs special mental qualities. They must be smart > > > enough to do the work, yet dumb enough to want to. :-) > > > > Absolutely. Rick Lyons and I were philosophizing the other day > > why my electrician can charge more per hour than we do building > > DSP systems that make companys millions. > > > > <bang><bang><bang><bang>... > > Hell, my wife's cleaning lady charges more per hour than I make. > > I'd complain but then I'd have to do the cleaning. > > OTOH, I do my own electrical work so I guess it evens out.Don't you need an electrician's certificate for that? Some time in the early/mid 90s somebody wanted to test the legal status of engineers versus electricians. This professor emeritus, who had worked with high-power systems all his life but did not have an electrician's certificate, changed the switch on his lamp. Well, don't remember exactly if that was what he changed, but he did something most of us would do ourselves rather than call in an electrician. Then he notified the authorities, the department responsible for maintaining integrity of the electrical system, and was taken to court, which, of course, was he was playing at. And lost. The penalty wasn't all that much -- some $1000 in fines -- but unless you have the certificate, the most you are allowed to do is to change the lightbulbs. Rune
Reply by ●June 22, 20062006-06-22
Rune Allnor wrote:> Ken Asbury wrote: >> Randy Yates wrote: >>> Steve Underwood wrote: >>>> [...] >>>> Of course an engineer needs special mental qualities. They must be smart >>>> enough to do the work, yet dumb enough to want to. :-) >>> Absolutely. Rick Lyons and I were philosophizing the other day >>> why my electrician can charge more per hour than we do building >>> DSP systems that make companys millions. >>> >>> <bang><bang><bang><bang>... >> Hell, my wife's cleaning lady charges more per hour than I make. >> >> I'd complain but then I'd have to do the cleaning. >> >> OTOH, I do my own electrical work so I guess it evens out. > > Don't you need an electrician's certificate for that? > > Some time in the early/mid 90s somebody wanted to test the > legal status of engineers versus electricians. This professor > emeritus, who had worked with high-power systems all his > life but did not have an electrician's certificate, changed the > switch on his lamp. Well, don't remember exactly if that was > what he changed, but he did something most of us would do > ourselves rather than call in an electrician. > > Then he notified the authorities, the department responsible > for maintaining integrity of the electrical system, and was > taken to court, which, of course, was he was playing at. > > And lost. > > The penalty wasn't all that much -- some $1000 in fines -- but > unless you have the certificate, the most you are allowed to do > is to change the lightbulbs.Not where I live. Anybody is entitled to work on his own house, but not a neighbor's. (Helping is allowed.) If the work involves more than replacing a defective switch or outlet, the local building inspector must be informed. Some communities charge an inspection fee, and of course, all work must conform to code. What is allowed varies from state to state and from municipality to municipality. Jerry -- Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get. �����������������������������������������������������������������������
