Bob Blick wrote:

> Let's see, Bob A, Chops and I have all told you that GW is OT. 

Last I checked that was the job of list admins, no? Define what's
appropriate in the categories and what not, and tell people when they're
off topic for a category?

I didn't say anything so far, but since you seem to want a count: for me,
the science part of it is ok in EE :)

> Please take your blocks of ice OT.

Shouldn't you rather ask James for a redefinition of EE then? 


FWIW, the piclist.com home page seems to be one of the sources of the
confusion with EE. There is written:

:: This label is for topics that, while not necessarily about PICs, are of
:: general interest to the Electronics Engineering community. How to hook
:: something up to a microcontroller or other computer (not related to the
:: PIC on board peripherals), analog circuitry, how to measure something,
:: how something works, news about companies involved in EE, etc...

This seems to contradict directly James's own definition ("everything
engineering") as stated on this list numerous times, for example here
<http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.hardware.microcontrollers.pic/97790/match=everything+engineering>.

Since I'm not a native speaker, and as such I don't have the luxury of
simply assuming I know what everything means, here's what Wikipedia thinks
of "Engineering":

:: Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying scientific
:: knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to
:: design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems,
:: and processes that realize a desired objective and meet specified
:: criteria.

"Applying scientific knowledge to design and implement processes that
realize a desired objective" seems to be what (part of) the GW discussion
is about. And while we probably all agree that there is a lot of discussion
that doesn't fit this description, I think that Russell tries hard to make
it fit. (Most of the times, at least.)


FWIW, I find the ice block analogy awfully lacking (not a good example of
analogy engineering, so to speak :). An ice block wets the floor all by
itself in a normal apartment, but a scientific discussion about GW (or
anything else) only moves into non-EE areas by the active actions of
participants. More akin to an ice block in a sturdy plastic bag inside the
apartment on a hot day. Some would appreciate the cooling effect, while
others may just find fun in poking holes in the plastic bag as it fills
with water.

Gerhard "not sure I'm really cheerful today"

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