Reading Reaction # 1: Jennifer Batryn

Understanding what makes an engineer and how different cultures and societies have approached engineering and their training can help us today to work effectively with engineers from all over the world, which is important in our increasingly global society. I found it interesting to read about the differences in some of the major European countries in terms of their style and methods of technical education. As we read in several papers, British engineering tends to be strongly craft based and focused on practical, hands-on training as opposed to a more theoretical education. This is in direct contrast to French or German approaches, which place a stronger influence on formal education and theory. In the article “The Globally Competent Engineer: Working Effectively with People Who Define Problems Differently”, authors Downey and Lucena claim that “people in the U.S. tend to highlight similarities across cultures while minimizing differences”. This can be a good thing in some circumstances, but it can also have detrimental effects because we then expect everyone else to carry out things the way we do. In terms of education, there is no right or wrong way to pass down engineering knowledge, but we are so used to the way we are taught in our own countries and we expect others to follow similar practices. As a result, we often view other methods as inferior.

My mentor from my internship this past summer was born and raised in China and has been doing his PhD work in Germany now for the past several years. He is very interested in cultural differences and the education systems in different countries and it was interesting to hear his perspective. For instance, he firmly believed that universities and education in England are lacking a lot compared to other places such as Germany and China. I wonder now if much of this has to do with the different approaches that these respective countries take in regards to technical education. Coming from China, which is another country that places high value on formal education and theoretical training, it is easy to see where he might conclude that a system that doesn’t value those as much does not provide as good of an education or training for engineering work. This brings up the question however of what good education really is. Is one method better than another or is the ideal education just a mix of theoretical and hands-on skills? If so, what is the proper mix between these and how do we find that balance? In addition, I think this also stresses the importance of trying to understand and appreciate other culture’s approaches for what they are.

This idea of understanding cultures also ties in with the overall theme in the article “Body Ritual among the Nacirema” by Horace Miner. Miner looks at American society from an outside perspective and while many of his “observations” of American lifestyle seem exaggerated and blown out of proportion, I feel like he brings up an important point. Too often it seems, we learn about different cultures and because we cannot truly understand them, we make our own assumptions and try to explain their practices and habits from our own perspective and preconceived notions of what is right, wrong, normal, and acceptable. Miner states that, “Our review of the ritual life of the Nacirema has certainly shown them to be a magic-ridden people. It is hard to understand how they have managed to exist so long under the burdens which they have imposed upon themselves.” Not knowing that the “Nacirema” were actually just ordinary Americans, it would be easy to agree with Miner’s conclusions about their unusual habits and ritualistic society from his report and observations. However, it is because we have an extensive prior knowledge of their actual culture that we can see how inaccurate certain portrayals of other people, customs and ideas can be. What then is a better way to learn about other cultures without misrepresenting or distorting large parts? There doesn’t seem to be a clear answer.

In our present society, we need to be able to effectively work with people from a multitude of different backgrounds and perspectives and with diverse ways of approaching problems. This can best be done by striving to learn about other cultures and accepting their methods and styles of engineering as valid and as having something to contribute to our global engineering pursuits.