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Suggested Readings for Engr Students 40

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braxtonlewis

braxtonlewis

Civil/Environmental
Oct 11, 2005
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Quite a few of my undergraduate students from this semester have been asking me to recommend to them 'books' or other readings that will help them toward their development as a human being as well as an engineer. So I created my first ever blog to answer this question.


The books listed are the one's that I seem to recommend most to just about everyone. Would you mind taking a look and letting me know what you think? What else would you recommend to me and to our students?



Braxton V. Lewis
Morgantown, WV
 
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Funny you should say that, as I thought the same thing (though I did find them both quite enjoyable). A fellow engineer suggested Atlas Shrugged because it was about engineering (sort of), but I found The Fountainhead to be more engrossing (barring Ayn's incessant need to describe a single building over 3-5 pages). During one of my manic phases, I think I finished Fountainhead in a weekend.

Dan - Owner
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I'll add Fountainhead to my list. I thought I'd read it after Atlas but........ I'll not read the 3-5 pages describing a building. I couldn't bear the strain. ;-)

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
 
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Don't ask kids to read Ayn Rand until they understand what propaganda is. Her novels aren't literature: they're agitoprop for her idiotic "philosophy". Her technical people are written in such a laughable, naive way that I'm fairly confident she'd never actually met one.
 
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moltenmetal, I must be strange because I saw reflections of current events in the US, when I read Atlas Shrugged in the late 90's. I still see reflections today in current events.

I didn't view it as propaganda but her reasoning based upon her experiences in a communist country during her formative years. I wish she had written as a Christian but her atheism would never have allowed that.

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
 
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I would say that the works of Ayn Rand are being used as propaganda to a greater extent today than they have ever been used in the past. When we have elected officials who proudly announce that they have made her works mandatory reading for their staffs and where other people in public positions espouse the virtues of the characters in her books as being the sort of people Americans should look to as role models or that the society as described therein should be what the country needs to be moving toward, then that makes it propaganda, whether YOU think it is or not.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Design Solutions
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
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Cypress, CA
UG/NX Museum:
To an Engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
 
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How on earth you could ever even TRY to rationalize Christianity with a "philosophy" which says that altruism is evil (more than that- she implies that it is also impossible) and that selfishness is virtuous and should be pursued whatever the costs to others may be, is a total mystery to me.

Her books are a good read, once you understand them in their proper context. They're a textbook example of how you can be made to believe anything as long as you are suckered into buying illegitimate first premises. Engineers and other technical people have been among the most vigorous supporters of ideological tyrants for similar reasons.
 
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You guys read way too much into it, IMO. Can't you just enjoy the story for what it is? If I wanted to worry so much about symbolism (beyond that in the work, for the work), I'd go back to high school English class. It's a story... read it to take your mind off of the real world for a few hours.

Dan - Owner
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Thanks for the understanding responses, JohnRBaker and moltenmetal. :) I realize you (plural you) don't know me and electronic communication is difficult.

I saw the contradictions with Christianity in Atlas. I am not rationalizing her atheistic viewpoints with anything other than her experiences with communism. I should clarify my statement with the overwhelming point that came across to me was the parallel I saw and still see with current events. What I see public and private leaders do and say often leaves me dumbfounded. After reading "Den of Thieves" by James B. Stewart, I concluded some CEO's need their heads examined.

My disabled brother lives with me so I know a little about altruism and its benefits for others. I am the baby of the family and have had to help both of my siblings. I don't mind and haven't complained.

Mr. Baker, I don't follow what others do, as a rule. I suppose I should view the Bible and every other book I was required to read from a very young age forward as propaganda simply because they were required reading. I don't hold to that opinion. How can motivating people to be creative and work hard be harmful to others? The Bible is very clear about work ethic in 2 Thess. 3:10, i.e., if you don't work, you don't eat.

There are people who should be working but choose not to because they know how to game the system and people. I don't want to support people like that and I don't feel bad about it either. I've been working hard since I was 6 years old. It didn't kill me. It won't kill them. I know people who think I should give a lot more than I do because they think I can afford it. What is that?

I've listened to pastors in the pulpit say things that raised my eyebrows because I could find no Biblical support for it. Did I follow their direction, simply because they said I should? No. God gave me a brain and I use it to the best of my feeble abilities.

To get back on topic, I'll add "Den of Thieves" by James B. Stewart as a book to read.

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
 
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"I like cigarettes. . . . I like to think of fire held in a man‘s hand. Fire, a dangerous force, tamed at his fingertips. I often wonder about the hours when a man sits alone, watching the smoke of a cigarette, thinking. I wonder what great things have come from such hours. When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind--and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his own expression."
Click to expand...

My favorite quote from Atlas Shrugged.

 
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Dan, I think the good books are those you read again and again and find new depths and hidden meanings.

It isn't just what the writer says that is of interest but the message they offer. It repays effort if you actually think about what is said or seen or portrayed.

For example, I just wish I knew more Russian history and could understand more of the subtle nuances of Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita". I read it first and found it a very entertaining read. It was only during trips to Russia discussing it with our agent there that some of the hidden meanings and the ironies were explained which made it even more interesting and added a new dimension to the book.
It was one of those books written under the very noses of an oppressive regime and which managed to get its message past the censors unseen to a populace who saw the message.

A similar story with East German Rock and Roll.... Ostrock ...
This radio show:
....uncovers a story that involves, the Stasi, disappearing musicians, lyrics with hidden meanings and music that was 'Western' in all but name.
Click to expand...
.

The same with films like "The Seven Samurai".
After a repeat viewing or two you realise that the Samurai who die were all of them killed by rifle fire.... Kurasawa commenting on the effects of western technology on Japanese culture?

JMW
 
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Rand's "philosophy" (gag!) is hardly "hidden" in her works- it's a freaking CHARACTER. Reading her novels for a nice little story is like reading Orwell's "Animal Farm" as if it were a children's book.

 
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MacGyverS2000 (Electrical)
12 Sep 11 15:11
You guys read way too much into it, IMO. Can't you just enjoy the story for what it is? If I wanted to worry so much about symbolism (beyond that in the work, for the work), I'd go back to high school English class. It's a story... read it to take your mind off of the real world for a few hours.
Click to expand...

I agree. It is fiction, after all.

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
 
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lacajun,

Atlas Shrugged is fiction, but it is not remotely value neutral.

Imagine ASME Y14.5-2009, the Movie! (The book is too boring) The GD&T expert heads out his front door in the morning, walks down his street, and stops to help a little old lady across the street. On the other side of the street, he helps the police stop an old, traditional drafter from beating his wife. I am still trying to figure out how to fit in the car chase...

Critter.gif
JHG
 
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