# Anyone else notice the arrogance among engineers **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980 "2006-02-17T18:51:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/221 "2014-04-24T16:13:17Z")
Why would I notice other engineers? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/222 "2014-04-24T16:19:38Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Why would I notice other engineers? Lesser beings that annoy you and get in your way? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/223 "2014-04-24T16:38:25Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Lesser beings that annoy you and get in your way? Ah. You’re obviously not an engineer. You notice other engineers because you walk into them since you’re not watching where you’re going and _they’re_ not watching where _they_ are going. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/224 "2014-04-24T17:00:13Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > And I’ve already been sidetracked trying to find a name for the cognitive bias of thinking that expertise in one area makes you an expert on everything. Didn’t find it. Perhaps that would be a form of the [Overconfidence effect](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Overconfidence_effect). ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/225 "2014-04-25T04:01:05Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Ah. You’re obviously not an engineer. > > You notice other engineers because you walk into them since you’re not watching where you’re going and _they’re_ not watching where _they_ are going. Well when we collide. It’s because _they_ are not watching where I am walking. /end of arrogant engineer schtick ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/226 "2014-04-25T12:30:53Z")
I’m an engineer, and have worked around engineers for 25 years. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I should write a damn book on 'em. The most serious problem? People who get engineering degrees and have _absolutely no interest in engineering_. :mad: Why the _ **hell** _ did you suffer through engineering school if you have no fucking interest in it?! For fuck’s sake, _ **why** _?? For the money? The prestige? Because it’s obvious you’re totally clueless, you will _always_ be totally clueless, you leech off others, and you’re making the rest of us fucking _ **miserable** _. All because you’re a narcissistic, self-centered douchebag who made the stupid-ass decision to get an engineering degree when you have _zero_ interest in it. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/227 "2014-04-25T15:28:41Z")
Amen **Crafter\_Man** One of the most rewarding aspects of my present job is that I don’t have to tolerate said douchebags. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/228 "2014-04-25T17:57:58Z")
> [@Aquadementia](#): > > Nails aren’t the problem. They are the solution. Jimmy Buffet might disagree (as in _(She Took My Car and) Left Me with a Nail to Drive_). ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/229 "2014-04-25T18:18:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Perhaps that would be a form of the [Overconfidence effect](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Overconfidence_effect). Hmmm. No. That looks like it could apply to anyone, although it’s getting there. We’re looking for a name for the effect of someone thinking that their expertise and experience in one area spills over to give them expertise in every area. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/230 "2014-04-25T18:19:32Z")
The solution is not nails, you primitive savages. It’s either duct tape or RTV, depending on the nature of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/231 "2014-04-26T02:44:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Bryan Ekers, B. Eng., B Comm., CD(2) Communications? COMMUNICATIONS? So you wanted a dual major so you went with something so easy that Sarah Palin could handle it, or is that a degree in something real in Canada? (looking) Oh, it’s a Bachelors of Commerce up there, so it’s a little of both. :rolleyes: **dropzone** , BA Anthropology except I was called an engineer for 30-some years, proving any idiot can pick up enough to fake it while on the job. Proof: Nothing I designed exploded, caught fire, or fell down when it wasn’t supposed to. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/232 "2014-04-26T03:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=pizzabrat] Anyone else notice the arrogance among engineers [/QUOTE] Do black people drink white milk? Oh, sorry, I thought we were having a “who can ask the dumbest question” contest. I’m very competitive. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980/233 "2014-04-27T02:54:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The solution is not nails, you primitive savages. It’s either duct tape or RTV, depending on the nature of the problem. No, sometimes it would be WD40. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-notice-the-arrogance-among-engineers/344980.md?page=11)