V G wrote:

>> Why should a biology researcher wanting to measure breathing rate for
>> a sleep study using pressure sensors need to know how to design a
>> microcontroller circuit?
>=20
> A biology researcher would probably have those tools at hand or
> someone who knows what they're doing to design a proper circuit for
> them. Any biological researcher without the proper skills to "design
> a micoronctoller circuit" inherently shouldn't be trusted to do his
> research since he would be oblivious to any underlying phenomenon
> which could affect his data.=20

By the same token one could say that no EE (and by extension, no biology
researcher) shouldn't be trusted who can't design (and manufacture)
their own semiconductors... which would put many (otherwise quite
capable) EEs into the "untrusted" bin.

Engineering is also about being able to draw reasonable boundaries and
build on the work of others, and "reasonable" depends a lot on the given
situation. Just because you are comfortable with reading semiconductor
component datasheets without really understanding all the subtle details
about the materials used in semiconductor manufacturing that one needs
to know in order to design a complex chip doesn't mean that this is a
boundary that's conceptually different from other boundaries.


> I guess. But what angers me is that all the kids coming out of
> undergrad still don't really know how to do anything useful.=20

I guess that's a different issue, and not really related to the Arduino.
There are some things people shouldn't expect to learn in university, so
they should go out and try to learn them elsewhere.


> Real world problems aren't solved with an Arduino.

Not sure what you mean by "real world", but to me the Arduino looks like
a seriously useful tool to solve problems the real world may pose to
some, just like a hammer. I don't have to acquire blacksmith skills and
be able to make my own hammer "from scratch" in order to use a hammer to
adequately solve real-world problems... independently of the fact that
others may use a hammer where a screwdriver would be more appropriate.

Gerhard
--=20
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
.