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Re: Do TWs need to be formally educated in engineering and science? was, RE: old school
Subject:Re: Do TWs need to be formally educated in engineering and science? was, RE: old school From:jlshaeffer -at- aol -dot- com To:Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com, al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Sat, 24 May 2008 23:27:26 -0400
I think this has more to do with what C. P. Snow called "The Two Cultures" than with specific technical knowledge (much of which has a half-life). Being educated in science, engineering or technology helps you become acculturated to science, engineering and technology, and it's a different culture than one acquires when being educated in the humanities.
Jim Shaeffer
(with degrees in both English Literature and Computer Science)
-----Original Message-----
From: Leonard C. Porrello <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com>
Wrote (in part):
So I wonder, how can someone say, on one hand, that what one learns in
college as a student of engineering or science is irrelevant within a
relatively short time after graduation, and on the other hand, that an
education in engineering or the sciences is essential--for a technical
writer?
In contrast to the claims made by engineers, I daily use much of what I
learned as an undergraduate in philosophy and graduate student in
English.
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