OKAY! I'LL DO THAT RIGHT NOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE USING ALLCAPS ABOUT!
By the amount of stories you've told about you blowing shit up, I have no trouble believing that.
There is a fine line between science and lunacy, and my experiments generally fall into the latter category.
So you refute the possibility of any one of those being the other? I find that hard to accept. An Engineer can very easily be a scientist and vice versa. Even someone who has not been formally educated in or even holds a job in either of those positions can be one or both of those.
No, I don't. What I refute is that being one AUTOMATICALLY qualifies one as being the other. Of course an Engineer CAN be a scientist, and vice versa, but being an engineer doesn't mean you are also a Scientist, without exception. I never said that the two were mutually exclusive at any point.
By these definitions (which I would doubt you'd find their credibility in question), I fit the description of an engineeranda scientist.
By those definitions, yes - both titles are extremely general. However, it could also be said that you are neither accredited or acknowledged as either a scientist or an engineer, and therefore, are not either.
In fact, only a couple of weeks ago, I designed, prototyped, built, installed, tested, and refined a cell phone holder for my bike. Could you not call that engineering in its most fundamental sense?
That would depend how loosely you defined engineering, or which definition you preferred, or if there were not a better word for it. But that's not the question - I wouldn't personally call it Engineering, no.
And what about what I do for fun/a job? I fix computers by observing the problem, forming a hypothesis as to it's cause and how to fix it, predicting the outcome of each possible repair solution, experimenting by implementing the best predicted solution, observing the outcome and altering my approach if needed, and recording my results.
Good onya. You're doing it right.
Is that not an application of the scientific method? And is not the scientific method the pillar on which all science, past or present, stands?
Absolutely. However, can you really say you are doing science? In fact, by your given definitions, I'd say you're behaving more like an engineer - Using Scientific knowledge(and the scientific method, in this case) to solve a practical problem. You're not Observing and studying the situation to try to define a rule for the natural world, you're trying to correct a problem in a system which is not functioning as it should be - a practical problem.
OKAY! I'LL DO THAT RIGHT NOW. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE USING ALLCAPS ABOUT!
It was a reference to an old debate between a theist and an atheist (I don't remember their names). Apparently, at the end of his argument, the theist yelled "REPLY" at his opponent, which startled him so much that he did not answer.
By the amount of stories you've told about you blowing shit up, I have no trouble believing that.
There is a fine line between science and lunacy, and my experiments generally fall into the latter category.
I accept that also. ^_~
So you refute the possibility of any one of those being the other? I find that hard to accept. An Engineer can very easily be a scientist and vice versa. Even someone who has not been formally educated in or even holds a job in either of those positions can be one or both of those.
No, I don't. What I refute is that being one AUTOMATICALLY qualifies one as being the other. Of course an Engineer CAN be a scientist, and vice versa, but being an engineer doesn't mean you are also a Scientist, without exception. I never said that the two were mutually exclusive at any point.
Yes you did. You very explicitly stated your belief in the exclusivity between the two when you said "An engineer is not a scientist. A Scientist is a Scientist. An Engineer is an Engineer". If you made a mistake in your previous statement, and this new statement is what you actually intended to convey, then, fine, I'll accept that.
By these definitions (which I would doubt you'd find their credibility in question), I fit the description of an engineeranda scientist.
By those definitions, yes - both titles are extremely general. However, it could also be said that you are neither accredited or acknowledged as either a scientist or an engineer, and therefore, are not either.
I made no claim towards accreditation nor acknowledgement, I was merely stating that I fit within the parameters of both definitions. Broad they might be, but those are acceptable definitions of the terms.
In fact, only a couple of weeks ago, I designed, prototyped, built, installed, tested, and refined a cell phone holder for my bike. Could you not call that engineering in its most fundamental sense?
That would depend how loosely you defined engineering, or which definition you preferred, or if there were not a better word for it. But that's not the question - I wouldn't personally call it Engineering, no.
So what is your definition of engineering?
And what about what I do for fun/a job? I fix computers by observing the problem, forming a hypothesis as to it's cause and how to fix it, predicting the outcome of each possible repair solution, experimenting by implementing the best predicted solution, observing the outcome and altering my approach if needed, and recording my results.
Good onya. You're doing it right.
I'd like to think so.
Is that not an application of the scientific method? And is not the scientific method the pillar on which all science, past or present, stands?
Absolutely. However, can you really say you are doing science? In fact, by your given definitions, I'd say you're behaving more like an engineer - Using Scientific knowledge(and the scientific method, in this case) to solve a practical problem. You're not Observing and studying the situation to try to define a rule for the natural world, you're trying to correct a problem in a system which is not functioning as it should be - a practical problem.
...Thereby proving my point that a Engineer can also be a Scientist.
My definition doesn't matter, and varies on the context. That, I would call Hacking, if I wanted to really stretch the definition, or preferably, or Making, in the Make Magazine sense.
...Thereby proving my point that a Engineer can also be a Scientist.
No, no it doesn't. Because You're not being a scientist in that situation, you're behaving like an engineer. Using the scientific method doesn't make you a scientist any more than using a tampon makes you female, or being getting cut by a cheese-knife makes you into cheese. It's part of being a scientist, sure, but it's only part of it. If you are using the definition of "If you use the scientific method, you're a scientist" then your definition is broad enough to be essentially worthless, and thus, should be discarded.
If you made a mistake in your previous statement, and this new statement is what you actually intended to convey, then, fine, I'll accept that.
I wouldn't call it a mistake, but I didn't state my meaning clearly, so near enough.
I read the first chronicle of Thomas Covenant (Lord Foul's Bane) quite awhile ago. It was pretty good, but not amazing. I just finished reading the second one, The Illearth War, which was way awesome. So now I'm reading The Power that Preserves.
I finished reading the first book by Stieg Larsson a few days back, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was a bit odd, but that could be due to the translation factor or possibly just cultural differences on my behalf. The book almost seemed to have dual protagonists, or maybe he was just setting it up for the second book in the series. I'll report more after I finish the second book, The Girl Who Played With Fire
I'm a big fantasy fan, but that put me to sleep when I read it. It sounds like a second shot in worth it?
Yeah, the first book didn't really do much for me, but the second one did. If the second one still snoozes you, don't go one because the third is feeling a lot like the second.
Reading Triplanetary by EE Smith for my Lensman fix, then I'm going to move on to the Elric saga. I found two beautiful hardcover volumes that collect all 7 books at $5 each.
I am now reading The Kite Runner after my father recommended reading it. I picked it up, and I cannot put it down. I'm halfway through it and I am stunned at how hauntingly powerful it is.
I downloaded a bunch of free books in iBooks on my phone, and I've been reading those on the subway little by little instead of playing mindless games. Finished Around the World in 80 Days. Liked it. Tried to read translation of Goethe, very difficult to read. Anyone got a public domain book suggestion?
I was about 400 pages into the Baroque Cycle series, but alas water damage is a bitch. I'll probably re-buy them, and also get Golden Apples of the Sun the next time I get near a book store. I'll probably read Golden Apples first.
I was going to start reading The Godfather, however when I got down to it I realized that all the good parts are in the movies and the rest is very stupid descriptions of Sonny's dick and a sub plot about a woman who can't get off because her cooter is too large.
I decided to read Chuck Palahniuk's Pygmy instead.
Finished up a couple popcorn novels recently (the first two books in Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series) as well as a bit of steampunk (The Affinity Bridge). Picked up a copy of Zodiac by Robert Graysmith cheap at a second-hand store and have started to work my way through that because I feel the need for some non-fiction. One of these days I might actually go back and pick up the Prince of Nothing series as it is gathering dust on my shelf; I'll likely have to re-read book one before diving in to book two and picking up where I left off.
With any luck I'll be upgrading my phone to a Droid handset in the near future, which will make reading on the road a bit easier. I forget what my last count of e-books was, but I know it was well into the thousands. Once I've got that set up I'll likely never want for reading material at work again.
I recently got my Kindle 3 and started reading Parasite Rex. I knew about the awesomeness of parasites through the Radiolab episode and this book just proves this some more.
Almost done with The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross, third book in The Laundry Series. OMG these books are so freaking good. I've never been one for British spy thrillers but these are a good combination of that and Lovecraftian horror. I have been recommending The Atrocity Archives (the first book in this series) to people and wrote a review of it for Pretty Gamer. (If linking to outside blogs isn't allowed please let me know and don't murderafy me >.<) Also, there is going to be a Laundry based RPG coming out soon that I'm going to pick up. Hmmm, what to read next?
Reading "Eating the Dinosaur" by Chuck Klosterman. Admittedly I dont read nearly as often as I'd like, and I just grabbed this book at randmon in an aiport yesterday b/c I forgot to bring any reading material. Very odd book, as each chapter just takes a look at an odd correlation in pop culture. I'm sure the book is probably trash if you looke at Klosterman's logic, but the first few chapters were amusing, especially when he took Kurt Cobain to task.
Almost done with The Fuller Memorandum by Charles Stross, third book in The Laundry Series. OMG these books are so freaking good. I've never been one for British spy thrillers but these are a good combination of that and Lovecraftian horror. I have been recommending The Atrocity Archives (the first book in this series) to people and wrote areviewof it for Pretty Gamer.
Oooh! I highly second this. The Laundry books kick ass. Anyone who digs geek references, spy novels, and C'thulhu stories should definitely check these out!
Over halfway through Lord of Chaos (book 6 of Wheel of Time). Certainly not my favorite fantasy series, but it has enough good characters and the world is really good. Still, the series in general,
The Picture of Dorian Gray has always been a favourite of mine, if you haven't read it yet. Really, any Wilde is great.
Finally finished Kavalier and Clay, over a year late (hey, better to read it late than not at all, right?). It was amazing, as promised. Really enjoyed the main characters, though I got a few of the side characters confused in my mind a couple of times early on. It was great to finally be able to listen to that old Book Club episode about it, too. Definitely agree with how well that feeling of nostalgia for things that happened earlier in the book came across.
Starting next on a Neal Stephenson book - not Snow Crash, actually, but Zodiac. A friend of mine plays the main character, Sangamon Taylor, in our LJ game, and her writing/portrayal of him has always interested me, so I figured it was high time I checked out the source material. Really enjoying it so far.
Over halfway through Lord of Chaos (book 6 of Wheel of Time). Certainly not my favorite fantasy series, but it has enough good characters and the world is really good. Still, the series in general,
It needs to pick up the pace.
You've got a long way to go if you're half way through book 6.
It'll get exciting again I think in 8 (or was it 7? It's been a while) and then it'll drag, a lot.
Until Nynaeve starts visiting bars ... uhhhh this will not make sense until it happens, and then if you're anything like I am you will re-read the whole scene like 20 times shouting the last lines of the scene along with the characters.
*ahem*
So much more to go through with such a huge cast of characters and with them all doing their own thing it seems like a few of the later books only cover three months of time each. Understandable but the pacing is the worst part of the series.
After listeing to the book club, I stopped listening just before the spoiler tag, read Locke Lamora, then came back and finished the episode off.
I wasn't going to read it but you sold me.
In fact, maybe the book club could be used to not only discuss a book, but also hype it up, or give us a good insight into why we SHOULD read it, before the spoiler tag.
As you quite often say, a lot of people won't have even read the book. If they knew they were getting a good reason why they should read it, you also serve the purpose of getting people to read more.
So far Red Seas is more of the same, which is fine with me. Perfectly fine.
I just finished Anansi Boys, a spinoff of American Gods that I had never heard of, but stumbled across during my first visit to a library in...years. It was a good book, but most of all it reminded me how good Neil Gaiman is, and how I should really get the hell around to reading American Gods. Probably gonna grab it when I bring Anansi Boys back to the library. It's weird; I never attributed any value to libraries before now. I just figured they were big warehouses for storing old people and hobo computers, and the books were just kinda decoration. But now it's like...I can actually go there, and get those books, and read them. For free. I don't have to buy them at a Borders or whatever. Which is cool, because I'm broke as shit.
Comments
This week I'm reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. It bears close relation to Heinlein's Starship Troopers.
Also reading Golden Apples of the Sun /obvious
I decided to read Chuck Palahniuk's Pygmy instead.
With any luck I'll be upgrading my phone to a Droid handset in the near future, which will make reading on the road a bit easier. I forget what my last count of e-books was, but I know it was well into the thousands. Once I've got that set up I'll likely never want for reading material at work again.
Finally finished Kavalier and Clay, over a year late (hey, better to read it late than not at all, right?). It was amazing, as promised. Really enjoyed the main characters, though I got a few of the side characters confused in my mind a couple of times early on. It was great to finally be able to listen to that old Book Club episode about it, too. Definitely agree with how well that feeling of nostalgia for things that happened earlier in the book came across.
Starting next on a Neal Stephenson book - not Snow Crash, actually, but Zodiac. A friend of mine plays the main character, Sangamon Taylor, in our LJ game, and her writing/portrayal of him has always interested me, so I figured it was high time I checked out the source material. Really enjoying it so far.
It'll get exciting again I think in 8 (or was it 7? It's been a while) and then it'll drag, a lot.
Until Nynaeve starts visiting bars ... uhhhh this will not make sense until it happens, and then if you're anything like I am you will re-read the whole scene like 20 times shouting the last lines of the scene along with the characters.
*ahem*
So much more to go through with such a huge cast of characters and with them all doing their own thing it seems like a few of the later books only cover three months of time each. Understandable but the pacing is the worst part of the series.
After listeing to the book club, I stopped listening just before the spoiler tag, read Locke Lamora, then came back and finished the episode off.
I wasn't going to read it but you sold me.
In fact, maybe the book club could be used to not only discuss a book, but also hype it up, or give us a good insight into why we SHOULD read it, before the spoiler tag.
As you quite often say, a lot of people won't have even read the book. If they knew they were getting a good reason why they should read it, you also serve the purpose of getting people to read more.
So far Red Seas is more of the same, which is fine with me. Perfectly fine.
Libraries are badass.
^___~