Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Topic of the day:
ENGINEERS VS DOCTORS
For the umpteenth time today, I was confronted with the same statement : "Engineers are so free and easy"
and yes you might have guessed that these words come from a doctor..
So, let's discuss this topic shall we?
First, we need to know the definitions of both related fields...
Engineering is the art or science of making practical application of the knowledge of pure sciences, as physics or chemistry, as in the construction of engines, bridges, buildings, mines, ships, and chemical plants...
while medicine is the art or science of restoring or preserving health or due physical condition, as by means of drugs, surgical operations or appliances, or manipulations: often divided into medicine proper, surgery, and obstetrics...
so, engineering involves applying the principles of science into a real application e.g. bridges, buildings, etc
and medicine involves applying medical knowledge to cure a disease, injury, etc..
From the two definitions above, I can immediately see that engineering involves "hands-on" approach as in using your hands to build something
while medicine involves the use of medical knowledge which can be obtained from books!!
am I wrong to say that?
Can you actually know that a certain chemical can cure certain disease without going through medical books?
I believe you can't!
On the other hand, can you build a bridge without going through engineering books?
Yes you can!
You just have to understand what a bridge is used for, what it requires and you can start coming up with various designs!
So, in other words, engineering should be project based subject where students spend their time working on projects and applying what they have learnt..
while medicine is sort of clinical based where you spend your time digesting medical knowledge so that you can apply it to cure disease or injuries when you become a qualified doctor in the future...
And then comes the golden question, "why does medical students spend more time in university than most engineers?"
The answer lies on the basic of the two subjects - project based and clinical based..
Can you learn about your project?
No, you can't!!!
You are required to brainstorm, to come out with a design, to come out with something novel for your projects!!!
Can you obtain all these from books?
No, you can't!!
Books are only there to help you come out with the designs!!!
As for medicine, can you obtain medical knowledge from books?
Yes, you can!!!
The knowledge on how to cure certain diseases can be obtained from book!
Medical students are not required to come out with something novel to cure diseases unless those diseases are rare and never occur before!!!
Looking at the differences, it is only natural that medical students spend more time in university than engineers because medical knowledge can be imparted from one person to another since it is more or less fixed!
Nothing will change unless someone does a research and comes up with novelties..
As for engineers, can you actually fix someone's way of thinking?
Can you actually force someone to think that there is only one solution to every design problems?
No you can't!!!
So, it is only natural that we will spend more time thinking about our projects than learning science concepts!!!
There is no point to teach profound physics or chemistry or maths concepts if they are not relevant to engineering!!
Is it very hard to understand that?
Or are the medical students I met here does not have a flexible mind?
So, morale of the story is "It is better to prevent than to cure"
Doctors cant do nuts and as long as we take good care of our health, we don't need to go to see a doctor....
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
