Why are still not at 64 bits [was Can't figure out Firefox Plugin Requirement ]

[Jeffry Smith]

On 2/18/07, Tom Buskey <tom at buskey.name> wrote:
> On 2/17/07, Jeffry Smith <jsmith at alum.mit.edu> wrote:
> >
> >
> > And don't forget that real Engineers (Professional Engineers) sign
> > their work and take responsibility for failures (reputation, money,
> > etc).
>
> Not all real engineers need a PE.

In some states you do - some have laws on the books that to call
yourself an Engineer means you have a PE - otherwise you're just an
Engineer in Training (EIT) or engineering staff.

>
> Civil Engineers do.
> Some Mechanical Engineers do.

Aerospace Engineers do.  In some states, if you're called and
Engineer, it means you have the PE.

Not everyone in a firm needs the PE, but at least for Aerospace, you
need a PE in the firm to sign off - putting his license on the line.


>
> There's a process for getting the PE stamp:
> 1) Get an engineering degree
> 2) take the Engineering In Training exam and pass
> 3) keep a journal of engineering decisions w/ a PE's verification
> 4) after 4(?) years you can submit that journal to take the PC exam

5) Continue your studies (continuing education)  - same as medical or
other professional.  It's not a one-time deal.

>
> I got my EIT but didn't go beyond that.
>
> For most computer related jobs, you only need experience and to say you're
> competent.  Then the hiring company has to agree with you.
>
> Engineering has established:
> material strengths
> calculations
> construction methods
> factors of safety

More importantly (at least for aerospace) it's got a mathematically
based scientific method for approaching those, based on a body of
knowledge that is built on the past.  As in repeatable results.  I
used to work in a materials lab.  One of the things we did was
destruction testing of composites.  Again and again.  To establish the
failure points and the root causes - so we could say with certainty
"this material, made out of these composites in this proportiion, laid
out in this pattern, will fail at X point" - and anyone who repeated
the experiment would have the same results.

>
> I don't see that in most of the computer world.
>

And that's why many argue it's not "engineering" - it's art.

jeff