since they know how to build bombs 'n stuff.

the Sept 11 pilots went to flight school to learn how to fly.

I think it should be easy to profile these people as most engineers know how to do a certain amount like building robots or radios. Have certain interests along those line. People who have no knowledge should stand out.

I'm an engineer. When I went to college, most of us did not have a very specific interest. We were "sciency" and wanted a good career in technology.

Not sure this line would be very fruitful.

What percentage of people from the countries where terrorists derive most frequently go into engineering programs when going to school abroad? I suspect it's fairly high.

that's what architects complain about all the time! engineers can be a bit... compartmentalized. it's very useful most days.

they, of course, have equally disparaging opinions about us.

but if they are hyper-religious, engineering can't overcome that either.

I am an engineer and I don't like the tone of this thread.

Last edited Wed Mar 23, 2016, 04:30 PM - Edit history (1)

what they aren't is empathetic.

from the article: Not surprisingly, earlier releases of the research sparked objections from many engineering professors. Several "were absolutely irate about those idiots from the soft sciences who don’t understand anything," says Hertog, now an associate professor of comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Others saw the papers as an attempt to smear the profession.

a member of the IEEE?

though I don't agree with their rabid pro-nuclear power stance.

Because when I am working in the lab making sure your phone calls will work, it is WAY different than some other dude ensuring a bridge won't collapse in six years

structural
electrical
mechanical
plumbing
geotech
envelope

all of them are potential terries!

Western countries for advanced education or jobs.

of parents push their kids into two fields: engineering, or medicine.

They do this, despite there being a HUGE glut of engineers in the MENA region.

This only adds to the problem... kids who are disgruntled about studying engineering get drawn into other things (Jihadism). If not disgruntled, discouraged as they simply cannot find a job using their degree.

I

its a long article, but I made it 80% through at lunch.

The vast majority of would be terrorists are guys who have driven themselves crazy but have no clue how to carry out any of their plans. These are the ones the FBI crows about capturing since they're the ones who talk in the hopes of finding somebody competent to buy reagents, wire timers, and generally build devices.

That's one of the fascinating and counter-intuitive findings. The engineers are not, by and large, the device builders!

Blaming this religion is frowned on.

They are not allowed to kill people, while we call them Holy Warriors (jihadists) and those fucking RIGHT-WING TERRORISTS can not call themselves "militia," while commandeering a US Federal facility built to protect wildlife!

Jim Jones was a Christian cult. And Waco was a Christian Cult. Etc.

I think once they have been started to be referred to as a Cult then they will start lousing followers.

Both are just criminal for-profit enterprises; ISIS happens to use some fake religious language; Mafia members use Catholic churches for weddings and funerals. No actual connection in either case.

How many people did they kill? How many did they injure?

They were trespassers and vandals, and probably committed some weapons violations. But that's about it. And law enforcement seemed to tolerate it for quite a while. They may have also expressed christian extremist views.

Not in the same category as the Paris and Brussels muslim extremists and their mayhem.

Longer answer: a combination of a criminal mind, desperate economic troubles, plus ideological zealotry breed terrorism. Engineering education only provides the means of such criminal minds to carry out their nefarious deeds.

Your short answer is surely true, but the nuanced long version contains surprises.

This is long overdue. Ask any physicist.

Everyone that reports to me is an engineer. I never fail to remind them that i'm a scientist. Jokingly, of course. Or maybe not. . .

Oh, that zany Rutherford!

So, i guess i'm ok with that.

Who made Agent Orange?
Depleted Uranium?

All the other chemical weapons?
All the bombs and nukes?
All the high powered weapons used against ordinary people?

This planet is suffering from a severe inversion of reality?

See how easy that was?

The authors specifically investigate that. The engineers tend to be in leadership roles rather than serving as technicians building bombs.

We must not discuss topics that might offend people.

That professor was a real asshole anyway.

The explosive devices they come up with aren't anything taught in an advanced class. They could just as well pack match heads into a water heater.

Pretty much every obvious "explanation" as to why there's nothing much to this is addressed therein.

That doesn't mean, at all, that engineering education inevitably breeds Islamist terror... just that this is an intricate story and the authors are well aware of all the very plausible explanations offered by smart people who nevertheless looked at the article and had a "TLDR" reaction.