Engineers: Most versatile and best multitaskers?

Engineering. Is it me or does the word itself sound mechanised? Over the last two decades this profession has been put on the pedestal by society. And if you're Indian, it's treated as the holy grail of technical careers. The hype might have a lot to do with the fact that it boasts a handsome pay package. However there are some undeniable facts about engineers that'll probably make all those of us who are toiling away to get our engineering degree, puff our chests and hold our heads high. 

 When it comes to versatility, engineers can give professionals from any other field a run for their money. If we examine engineering from an intra-discipline perspective, versatility exists quite evidently. At the very onset of our bachelor’s degree, we spend two semesters learning the basics for all disciplines of engineering. Saying we could replace our counterparts in other disciplines in the workplace, would be a stretch but we are equipped with the basic skills and some sincere effort overtime might just yield surprising results. As for our versatility in other fields, this is where that checklist of trademark traits of an engineer comes in handy. Let’s go through this list shall we?

Curiosity :- Apparently being scolded for taking apart appliances at home is a rite of passage for any true engineer. Curiosity is an essential personality trait in a number of other careers ranging from human resource manager up to private detective.

Creativity:- Engineering isn’t just about mugging up formulae and using the same to solve problems. Many engineers find themselves in the innovative line of work and are brainstorming ideas for new products. We have also spotted some engineering graduates in creative fields. Ashton Kutcher, Alfred Hitchcock and Rowan Atkinson are a few of the many “nerds” who have become a phenomenal success in their chosen creative fields.

Teamwork and leadership skills:- At the stage of our Bachelor’s degree we’ve had a fair number of group projects and we’ve learnt that working as a team is beneficial in our field. And just as well, learning to take charge is essential to steer a project to a successful completion. Is it any wonder that several engineering graduates have swarmed in and taken over the corporate world with an MBA?

When it comes to our multitasking nature I’ll once again draw reference to our academic lives. Our coursework involves several assignments, group projects and exams. To stay on top off all that hones our multitasking skills. When we talk about multi-tasking in the real world post-college, the jobs that you juggle could even have life and death implications. Here’s a few engineering jobs that are known for their killer multitasking level:-

Nuclear engineers:- As we move into an era in which we explore options to meet our energy requirements through nuclear power, nuclear engineers have a tough job at hand. Their job encompasses designing and developing nuclear equipment to examining and preventing nuclear accidents. Does the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster ring a bell?

Flight engineers(aka Air Mechanics):-From performing pre-flight checks before take-off to ensuring that the complex aircraft systems run smoothly, flight engineers are responsible for the safety of all passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

Industrial Engineers:- Although the specifics of the job varies from one industrial process to the next, the basics remains the same. Optimising production and reducing wastage are the key tasks of an industrial engineer.

Engineers can be called a breed of their own. Versatility/killer adaptability? Check. Multitasking beasts? Check. Love them or hate them, engineers are irreplaceable members of the workforce. Scratch that, of the human race rather. Period.

Are we becoming dumber as devices are becoming smarter?

Are we becoming dumber as devices are becoming smarter?

As technology progresses in leaps and bounds with each passing day, we finder “smarter” ways to do almost everything. As a consequence, we are constantly plagued with the question, as to whether smarter devices are inhibiting us from giving our grey cells a much needed workout? To really examine the question at hand we need to first understand what we mean “smarter” devices and how we evaluate the smartness of humans.

If I pull up a definition of smart devices from the internet, this is what I find:-

A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different wireless protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, etc., that can operate to some extent interactively and autonomously.

The most common example that comes to mind would be a smartphone. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We have entered an era of digital assistants, smart locks, robot vacuums and fitness tracking watches amongst other things. As life becomes easier day by day or app by app, is our increased dependency on smart devices leaving us less smarter?

Smartness of humans isn’t something that’s well defined. Intelligence can be measured with IQ however a more comprehensive evaluation would only be complete if we considered EQ(emotional quotient). And so I would like to evaluate the effect of smart devices in our lives by considering the following parameters that can be associated with IQ or EQ:-

Memory:- We have data bases full of phone numbers, birthdays and search engines to pull up facts within the matter of seconds and as a result we don’t feel the need to remember these things. We are constantly looking for ways to expand the free memory available on our devices and thereby diminishing our memory power.

Social interactions:- The rise of social networking has undoubtedly made the world a smaller place but however it has done no good to our interactions in person. A lot of people take comfort behind a screen and have no trouble talking to others over the internet but it’s this very nature of theirs that makes it hard for them to exhibit the same charisma in person. Over the internet we don’t have to worry about eye contact or body language, which are major factors in our interactions with people.

Critical thinking skills:- Studies show that our attention span has fallen drastically in the recent years. We live in a world where we are constantly bombarded with notifications from various apps and streams of information that gets updated by the second. It’s no doubt that we find it difficult to focus our attention on any one particular thing. Attention span is a very vital part of our critical thinking skills. Critical thinking involves assessing and analyzing problems and so wavering focus can immensely lower our critical thinking skills.

Creativity:- The internet has become a hub to display creative talents. With multiple platforms being opened up online, people who claim to be right brain dominant have a fantastic outlet for their creativity. Muses crop up on the internet day after day. And as a result occupations in the creative field that didn’t exist a decade or two ago are now becoming increasingly popular like Youtubing for example.

As people are becoming increasingly aware of the age of digital dumbness that is dawning upon the human population, apps and devices are being redesigned to prevent this intelligence apocalypse.

For example:-

The QAMAS calculator works as any other calculator except for the fact that it requires you to input an expected answer as well. If the expected answer is in close range to the actual answer it will display the correct answer or else it will not show an answer. After all the underlying mathematical principles are not to be forgotten.

We can conclude that we aren’t exercising our grey cells as we should be due to technological aid in almost every field of life. But however it comes down to how we chose to use technology. We can either allow it to cause our natural human skills to rust away or to oil the cog wheels that run our minds. The choice is yours. A smarter click on your smartphone can make you smarter.