Engineering Art
As the drool begins to pool next to my keyboard, my mind begins to wander.
Why is the sky blue?
Ah, that’s right, it’s the only color that the atmosphere doesn’t absorb from ROY G BIV.
Why are lemons sour?
Ah, that’s right, it’s the citric acid in them.
Why don’t all of my engineering colleagues have as many, if any, tattoos as I do? Hmmm. This is a bit more puzzling. I would say the reasons falls into a few different categories.
The first being the cost benefit analysis:
Before, after, and while we’re designing or developing anything you have to look at the tradeoff between functionality and cost. How much extra would it cost to be faster, lighter, have extra capacity? With the tattoo your analytical equation looks terrible. You pay anywhere from $50 to the sky is the limit for something that depreciates to zero the second it’s finished. The intrinsic value, just like any piece of art, is not measurable in any engineering sense of the word. Some in my profession can’t separate this pervasive attitude developed at work from their everyday life. Just like strippers can’t help being sluts when they go home (They’re just doing it for tuition, Yeah right!) I have separated this, for better or worse. Some $4000 dollars worse, but like I said, the value of art is subjective.
That’s a word engineer’s hate: Subjective. That’s why they all hated English classes in school. You write a paper and it’s up to someone to judge it’s value and it’s quality level. No equations, no “right or “wrong” answer. I learned, a bit but not much, from my wife how to write a decent paper.
If you really thing about it, the tattoo is really quite cheap over the coarse of one’s life. If I live till I’m eighty my tattoos will have only cost me about a quarter a day. For five years my truck is going to cost me 16 dollars a day + fuel + maintenance, and I’ll maybe keep it for 10 years.
I think I should start something like the Society of Automotive Engineers except for tattooed engineers. Society of Tattooed Engineers or STE. I don't know. That'd be kind of stupid.
Why is the sky blue?
Ah, that’s right, it’s the only color that the atmosphere doesn’t absorb from ROY G BIV.
Why are lemons sour?
Ah, that’s right, it’s the citric acid in them.
Why don’t all of my engineering colleagues have as many, if any, tattoos as I do? Hmmm. This is a bit more puzzling. I would say the reasons falls into a few different categories.
The first being the cost benefit analysis:
Before, after, and while we’re designing or developing anything you have to look at the tradeoff between functionality and cost. How much extra would it cost to be faster, lighter, have extra capacity? With the tattoo your analytical equation looks terrible. You pay anywhere from $50 to the sky is the limit for something that depreciates to zero the second it’s finished. The intrinsic value, just like any piece of art, is not measurable in any engineering sense of the word. Some in my profession can’t separate this pervasive attitude developed at work from their everyday life. Just like strippers can’t help being sluts when they go home (They’re just doing it for tuition, Yeah right!) I have separated this, for better or worse. Some $4000 dollars worse, but like I said, the value of art is subjective.
That’s a word engineer’s hate: Subjective. That’s why they all hated English classes in school. You write a paper and it’s up to someone to judge it’s value and it’s quality level. No equations, no “right or “wrong” answer. I learned, a bit but not much, from my wife how to write a decent paper.
If you really thing about it, the tattoo is really quite cheap over the coarse of one’s life. If I live till I’m eighty my tattoos will have only cost me about a quarter a day. For five years my truck is going to cost me 16 dollars a day + fuel + maintenance, and I’ll maybe keep it for 10 years.
I think I should start something like the Society of Automotive Engineers except for tattooed engineers. Society of Tattooed Engineers or STE. I don't know. That'd be kind of stupid.
Labels: Philosophy, Pure Gonzo Engineering, Tattoos
posted by lawryde at
10:07 AM
1 Comments:
yup, kinda stupid fo shizzle on my nizzle drew dizzle
By
H Bomb, at 11:21 AM, February 08, 2006
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