I think that this may have a tiny bit of merit.

Engineers tend to like black and white thinking. Often this is a BIG
advantage (it can help to sort out truth from fiction in many
situations). They also tend to have a good deal of opinionated,
obstinate self-confidence. Again, an asset in a situation where one
needs to be a technical leader.

However, if an engineering-type personality grasps onto a religious
idea, he can easily try to pursue it to its "logical consequences",
which may be good or may be a disaster depending on what the idea is
and how well he actually understands it and its consequences prior to
his trying to apply it absolutely. He also may lack the "human"
ability to judge the best thing in a particular situation (rather than
just strictly apply rules or principles) - which used to be called the
virtue of prudence.

I speak from unfortunate self experience ;-)

Sean


On Jan 28, 2008 3:55 PM, Dr Skip <drskip@gmail.com> wrote:
> PIClist users beware...
>
> The paper:
> http://www.nuff.ox.ac.uk/users/gambetta/Engineers%20of%20Jihad.pdf
>
> The EDN article:
> http://www.edn.com/blog/1750000175/post/1030020903.html
>
> Quote from the article in EDN:
>
> Monday, January 28, 2008
> EEs have terrorist mindset, Oxford University paper suggests
>
> A sociology paper from the University of Oxford has suggested there is a =
tie
> between the mindset of EEs and that of extreme Islamic terrorists.
>
> The paper, titled "Engineers of Jihad," was first published by the highly
> accredited university in November and saw some major news outlets begin t=
o pick
> it up in January.
>
> "We find that graduates from subjects such as science, engineering, and
> medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements in the Mus=
lim
> world, though not among the extremist Islamic groups which have emerged in
> Western countries more recently," the paper's abstract reads. "We also fi=
nd
> that engineers alone are strongly over-represented among graduates in vio=
lent
> groups in both realms. This is all the more puzzling for engineers are
> virtually absent from left-wing violent extremists and only present rathe=
r than
> over-represented among right-wing extremists."
>
> It's not technical skills, however, that draws engineers into terrorist g=
roups,
> according to the university research. Rather, the authors of the paper, D=
iego
> Gambetta and Steffen Hertog, hypothesize that engineers have a "mindset" =
that
> makes them a particularly good match for Islamism =96 one that makes engi=
neers
> "more radicalized" than people with other degrees.
>
> ....
>
> The paper argues that engineers have "peculiar cognitive traits and
> dispositions" and that engineers are among some of the most right-leaning
> conservative thinking groups out there and are inclined to take more extr=
eme
> religious positions.
>
> "We could thus hypothesize that personal dispositions and style of thinki=
ng
> among engineers differ from those of students in other subjects in ways t=
hat
> could make them more prone to become involved in violent forms of
> radicalization, not just as willing recruits but as prime movers," the pa=
per
> states, adding that its findings are not proof of its mindset theory.
>
> ...
>
> Of the engineers the paper studies, electrical were the most common, foll=
owed
> by computer-related.
> --
> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>

-- =

http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist