Understanding engineers.

[Zac Naloen]

understanding Engineers - Take One

Two engineering students were walking across the campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"
The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, "Take what you want."
The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fitted."


Understanding Engineers - Take Two

To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.


Understanding Engineers - Take Three

A priest, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with these people? We've been waiting for 15 minutes!"
The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!"
The priest said, "Hey, here comes the green keeper. Let's have a word with him."
"Hi George, what's the matter that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"
The green keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind fire-fighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."
The group was silent for a moment. Then the priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."
The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist friend and see if there is anything he can do for them."
The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"


Understanding Engineers - Take Four

A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."
The woman below responded, "You must be in management."
"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."


Understanding Engineers - Take Five

What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.


Understanding Engineers - Take Six

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body. One said, "It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints."
Another said, "No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections."
The last said, "Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?"


Understanding Engineers - Take Seven

Normal people believe that if it isn't broken, don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it isn't broken, it doesn't have enough features yet.


Understanding Engineers - Take Eight

An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship.
The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.
The engineer said, "I like both."
"Both?" Replied the architect and artist.
"Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done."


Understanding Engineers - Take Nine

One day, an engineer was crossing a road when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess". He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket.
The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week."
The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket.
The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want."
Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.
Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?"
The engineer said, "Look. I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

[Colonel Olrik]

I knew them all. All lies! We're nothing like that! Really.

OK, maybe a little, specially the new bike one. But that's because girls come cheaper

[Peregrin Toker]

I find #1 rather insulting, though not an engineer myself. (for a rough guideline of what size of clothes engineers use, my brother is an engineering student and relatively tall and thin)

And #7 applies more to computer nerds in general than the engineer variety.

But #6 is simply: hilarious.

[Darth Wong]

They're all really old. Some of them are pretty funny (I think the hot-air balloon one is hilarious), but I don't know where they got the idea that engineers don't care about sex. I think Rebecca could testify as to the inaccuracy of that notion.

[Zoink]

At our Christmas party, our new marketing guy was showing everyone a trick. He called it 'Chinese Numbers', basically he took a whole bunch of utensils and arranged them in wierd complex patterns, saying that this was an ancient Chinese numbering system. He gave a few examples (showing a couple of numbers between 1 and 10), the pattern wasn't always the same for the same number. He then kept doing shapes until everyone could say what the pattern was.

He said the regular employees will probably get it before the engineers, he was right. I got it fairly quick because I've done similar types of trick questions: I realised the pattern was too complicated for any layman to figure, so I started looking for something simple. It turns out he was giving the numbers with his fingers (resting one open hand on the table and and pointing at the pattern with two fingers, for example), the utensils were just a misdirection. So in fact, I guess it was a ancient Chinese numbering system after all (using fingers!)

But overall he was right, the last people to get it were my two co-workers (engineer and an engineering technologist) because they were too busy trying to figure it out, while everyone else gave up long ago and noticed the hands.

[Darth Wong]

Engineers think literally, rather than thinking in Bullshit-ese. That's why we make poor marketers, and why marketers would make poor engineers.

[Howedar]

They aren't all true, but they are all funny.

[XaLEv]

Understanding Engineers - Take Two

To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Overflow space seems more accurate to me.

Just a guess, yknow.

[PainRack]

The last time I saw Take 2, it was with regards to precision engineering. Before that, it was the Germans. Before before that, it was Human Resource.

[Gandalf]

I come from a long line of engineers. All I know is don't talk crap, they can somehow spot it a mile off.

That and some neat things on woodworking/metalworking/mechanics etc.