prompter: Hiw could one teach themselves engineering concepts?

assistant: There are several ways to teach oneself engineering concepts, including:

1. Online courses and tutorials: There are many online resources, such as online courses and tutorials, that can help you learn engineering concepts. Some popular platforms include Coursera, edX, and Udemy.

1. Textbooks and reference books: Textbooks and reference books are a great way to learn engineering concepts. You can find many textbooks and reference books in libraries, bookstores, and online.

1. Practice problems: Practice problems can help you reinforce your understanding of engineering concepts. You can find practice problems in textbooks, online resources, and engineering journals.

1. Hands-on projects: Hands-on projects, such as building a simple machine or circuit, can help you apply engineering concepts in a practical way.

1. Joining online communities: Joining online communities, such as engineering forums and groups, can help you connect with other learners and professionals in the field, allowing you to learn from their experiences and insights.

It's important to note that engineering concepts can be complex, and it may take time and effort to fully understand them. Therefore, it's important to be patient and persistent in your learning efforts.

assistant: The most important engineer concepts are the ones taught in the first year of engineering school.
Mainly physics 101, physics 102, material science 101, calculus 101, linear algebra 101, chemistry 101, computer science 101.
You can find online courses for these, or you can attend them at an engineering school.
The classes that engineering schools teach in the second year and beyond tend to be more specialized classes that build on top of these 101 courses. Depending on your personal goals, you may consider skipping most of those, and only learning the advanced, specialized concepts when you need them as an engineer. For example, if you plan to work on electric motors, it may be a waste of time to learn advanced thermodynamics, even though advanced thermodynamics is a mandatory class in the 2nd or 3rd year of most mechanical engineering degrees. If you need an accredited engineering degree from a university, then you'll have no choice but to learn many such specialized courses that you may never need.
But if your goal is simply to be a great engineer, then the most effective course of action is to become really good at all the 101 subjects i mentioned earlier, and then only learn the more specialized courses when they become relevant to your specific engineering project. 
If you have the means to do it, then 1 on 1 tutoring is a much more effective way to learn any subject matter such as engineering. The evidence is overwhelming that 1 on 1 tutoring by an expert allows you to learn concepts much faster than class room learning. If you have the financial resources to do it, the most effective way to learn engineering would be to attend an engineering school, but instead of attending the classes, you hire a professor, show him the problem sets from your classes, and then have him explain the concepts to you and solve the problem sets alongside with you.

assistant: Yes, of course. However unguided learning without testing of newly acquired knowledge may not be recommended. you should do your research as application of untested newly acquired skills within the field of engineering could prove dangerous. For example electrical engineering could be hazardous and come with a risk of electrocution or fire if not applied correctly. Additionally engineering is an advanced and diverse multi-faceted field, you should consider your goals and which specific field of engineering best applies to you.