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Sunday, March 21, 2010

a world designed and operated by men

I wonder if the engineering world was designed to keep women out. It sure seems like it !

When I was at varsity I couldn't say out loud what class I was late for or what assignment I had outstanding or even what exam I had to study for...not to my non-engineering friends. My subject list always invoked a discussion on the perversity of engineers. I didn't blame the "others", with subjects like vibrations, fluids and heat transfer along with study topics like contact stresses I was always the butt of a joke or 2 if i happened to mention anything.

It is no better in practical engineering situations. It makes me wonder what inspired this type of terminology. Surely there was a better way of labeling!

to put you in the picture here's just a few examples:

Engineers ,not the HIV/AIDS activists that promote the use on condoms, coined the term "safety first"
we're all acquainted with the nut and bolt stories ...i wont go there!
there's also pipe fittings which are referred to as male and female ( and they try to act innocent about the naming )
I recently had a project where the technician kept on referring to a nipple. Can you just imagine how uncomfortable that made me feel?
engines will be "serviced"
pipes will be cleaned
coupling is necessary for flow through pipes and for trains ...to make it bigger!
Civil engineers all believe "bigger is better"!
Lubrication is the order of the day...theses a whole subject on it called tribology
there's a flow theory in fluid dynamics called "separation" and a graph which describes an engineering phenomenon which is referred to as the bathtub curve, this no doubt sets their minds into some other dreamy world

talking about dreamy world...I think that many of my male counterparts and their predecessors could be described as social rejects. They don't know how to approach a lady (or any other form that may be attracted to) because of their technical minds(maybe this is an excuse) so they vent the frustration in their work and in this case through their work. I think they even do it sub-consciously.

My point tho' is that the engineering world draws the most parallels to "the Flintstones". Its archaic , but as advanced as the immediate world would like to believe it is . Men created this world, I think its being in development since the invention on the wheel.

Ladies ( and I refer to the elite here) in Europe in the time of the industrial were so misled. While their men displayed the best of the best of chivalric practice, he was amusing himself by inventing a males only society in the engineering field. "The chivalric code places an extremely rigorous standard of conduct on anyone who lives by it. To achieve it completely takes almost super-human qualities. One is expected to fiercely protect the honor of his liege, his love, and himself while remaining totally without pride. " I guess it could be these super-human qualities that "he" could not live up to.

What if the ladies designed engineering? Would it be just as perverse?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

my 1st international conference

No i didnt present a paper! I am totally inspired to go that route though.

I understand now the pomp of the final year presentations, this was just as boring and just as exclusive. I was lucky (even though I believe that everything happens for a reason)I love the idea of zooming in on one component and discretizing it so much that it looks like a monumental task to overcome.

So a conference was held from the 14th to th 18th of March 2010 to bring together developments in the world on railway wheelsets. The discussions covered everything from wheels profiles, noises, crack developments, maintenance, NDT etc.,etc.

I guess it appealed to the academic in me. but the socialite in me shied in the presence of all the foreigners. i guess i found them somewhaqt intimidating...they are eons ahead of us in thought, developments, approach to solutions and personal development. nine out of ten of them are PhD candidates or higher( maybe because sending anyone with less of a qualification is too expensive,), most of them are old males.

Im have to wonder, why it takes old persons to present changes for a dynamic changing world. i appreciate the need for experience to assist in getting the best designs out , I also appreciate that without the oldies we we may just reinvent the wheel but i tend to wish for younger faces, more dynamic people , more innovative solutions.

definitely inspired to be the change i want to see. Im becoming more ambition my career than i think feasible. being invited to the 16th international wheelset congress has opened my eyes to a different part of the engineering environment.Something that is designed to challenge me.