T or F

June 29, 2012

engineeringdaze Friday - Random Data Packets (Pot Luck) , , 2 Comments

T or F. Definitely T.

This is not in reference to true or false, but to the difference between how people operate according to various personality profiles. We discussed them at work this week, so it is on my mind – and I am thinking about them.

T is for Thinking. F is for Feeling. This is likely the strongest of the personality traits that are “measured” by these tests. A strong second is probably the introvert/extrovert scale. There are a few engineers which are actually outgoing. They are the ones in engineering sales jobs.

But, for T or F, engineers are almost all Thinking. Remember the mantra we have discussed elsewhere. Engineers don’t feel. Engineers think. When a person thinks about going into engineering but is feeling-oriented, either a) he goes absolutely crazy and ends up living in the wild with polar bears, or b) he becomes an architect.

The application is, again, never ask an engineer how he “feels” about something. It simply is not the thing to do.

Brain Analysis

May 7, 2012

engineeringdaze Monday - Equations, Charts, Graphs... , , , Leave a comment

For a person who just happens to fall for an engineer, with all that love stuff involved, it is helpful to realize the following graph that depicts where on the left-brained/right-brained continuum engineers tend to fall.

Engineer                                      left     center     right

←—————————————————————————→

One can see that the engineer would be considered left-brained he was more emotional. Put another way, Spock was too emotional to be an engineer.

If a person has hung around an engineer long, this is likely a known fact. However, it is always good to recall the truism for engineers: Engineers don’t feel, they think.

So, remember the continuum. This will help a great deal when interactions are necessary or desired.

Think, not Feel

April 13, 2012

engineeringdaze Friday - Random Data Packets (Pot Luck) , , Leave a comment

For today’s Random Data Packet (Pot Luck), we will discuss simply and quickly the mantra of the engineer, the one that every engineer wants every non-engineer in his life to remember when having any sort of interaction with him. Here it is:

Engineers think, they do not feel!

(The exclamation point is even verging on expressing feeling and I am not sure I should have used it, but in order to make the point…)

Please, all non-engineers out there, engineers don’t feel. They don’t want to “share” or talk about feelings. The engineer will discuss logical points on a topic, even if that topic is something like love or relationships. But, keep the feelings out of it.  There are equations for those types of things.

The engineer thinks, he does not feel.

Thank you for remembering.