how many engineers are artists? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: FrankBuss
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 01, 2014, 11:08:27 pm
content: There was a statement in another thread:Quote from: madshaman on May 01, 2014, 10:27:28 pmI wonder how many enginners here are musicians or graphicians as well. There are famous examples, for example Donald E. Knuth plays the pipe organ, and I (a professional programmer, and hobby electronics engineer) do play some simple piano pieces:And I know a good engineer who can draw nicely, and another one who is a singer in a hobby band.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 12:38:39 am
content: We have a SATB choir of decent size (~24) here at Intel in Oregon.And Microsoft up in Washington state has an orchestra.We have plans on performing together some day.

author: lewis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:04:54 am
content: I spend most of my time singing, not in a band because I hate to perform. But my workshop has wonderful acoustics as does my shower!

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:09:40 am
content: I haven't played anything seriously in ages, but I will dabble with any musical instrument within my reach

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:11:14 am
content: Engineering by definition is an "Art", not an exact science as in a "creative application of science".Programming, electrical, mechanical, etc...Scary, isn't it?Of course PhD's are more Science than Art in general, so they might fall anywhere in between.

author: Mike Warren
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:16:11 am
content: I'm a photographer and  musician, as my web site will show.

author: rexxar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:27:54 am
content: I play at least a half-dozen instruments. Most of them not verywell, but that doesn't stop me.For a while I played around with sketching, but I found it was far too much work to get results that satisfied me (I have high standards).

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 02:55:26 am
content: Electronics etc is my art.I can't draw very well. I can't play any musical instruments (probably could with enough practice and perseverance). When I was young I could sing quite well, but I can't any more. I do dabble in photography, but I'm usually more interested in the technical side of it than the artistic side.

author: han
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 03:21:30 am
content: Electronic is artMake PCB = digital drawing art, non EE will see it as abstract artWrite Software = literature art, Higher level than poemCasing/Module Design = SculptureartDesigning schematic = I consider it like Feng Shui ArtRF design = ExoticVoodoo witchcraftArt

author: Tinkerer
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 04:19:50 am
content: I have always found it odd, but I suppose it makes sense. I have done many different crafts, from painting models to making stuff. What I mostly do now is graphical work as a hobby. Create textures and 3d models; have a kickass DSLR camera. I suppose if I had been more dedicated I would have gone into game world creation instead of electrical.

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 05:42:56 am
content: I built a Theremin (electrical arts), and I play it occasionally (musical arts). Is that close enough?I've never been much of a musician though. I've learned, and forgotten, clarinet and piano. I do listen and enjoy music. Music runs in my family, seems like every other one is into something musical or technical.Tim

author: FrankBuss
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 05:55:58 am
content: Quote from: han on May 02, 2014, 03:21:30 amI think PCB designing is more an art in the sense of a skill of a craftsman. There are some rules which you can learn, how to place components and route them on the board with good power supply connections and short connections between the componts etc., but I don't see how this is related to e.g. a comic book creator.QuoteMost software is more like a grocery list, mixed with cooking recipes, and sometimes it is hard to read and you can imagine how bad the result tastesQuoteI agree. This isapplied arts, if done well. Some gadgets and even commodity items look really nice.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 06:04:55 am
content: Quote from: FrankBuss on May 02, 2014, 05:55:58 amFirst, cooking is an art.Second, same can be applied to PCB design.It all depends what window you are looking out from.No matter what I stand by engineering in general being Art.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 07:26:46 am
content: I have been around many mathematicians and all of them have been musical also been around many engineers of various varieties and some have been musical and a few into other arts like painting or writing but on the whole most engineers and technicians do not seem very artistic (I would put myself in that group) also many engineers seem to be autistic. What I am likely to be describing here is humanity in general.

author: 22swg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 08:14:24 am
content: I would suggest its more related to a creative gene , art , music, design , programming guess it triggers the brains reward system especially if it works !Hi this is my first post , be kind I'm 70 .

author: han
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 08:31:48 am
content: Quote from: G7PSK on May 02, 2014, 07:26:46 amagree. my EE brain lead me to impaired social interaction.

author: vk6zgo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 08:55:23 am
content: Not so much in our field,but many of the foundations of modern industry originated in the efforts of sculptors in making large statues.Da Vinci was fairly heavily into other aspects of Engineering,whilst Michelangelo,& Cellini also dabbled in itPainters experimented with the Camera Obscura to help produce pictures of cities,etc.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 09:00:25 am
content: Hi, I used to paint and draw and play the electric guitar, but now hobby electronics is all I seem to do in my spare time.This is something I painted for my girlfriend for her 21st birthday - luckily she's now my wife, so we still have it on the wall ;-)

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 09:30:04 am
content: I would call PCB layout on par with drawing / painting, you can read guidelines on how to make things look right, but it takes experience and and background knowledge to really do it well, equally you can tell when someone has put some effort into it,Other than that i used to do a large amount of sketch-work (trees, people, scenery, etc), and as a job that has shifted into managing documentation, (That is an art form that puts RF to shame) to convey to a hairy knuckled fitter (not all but a few) how to do something which requires fine motor skills and patience in an exact sequence,

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 12:35:47 pm
content: PCB making: you could call it art I guess, but the artist is restrained by laws and rules rather then making an optical attractive end result which seems to be the first an artist would go for.Within those constraints however, I always like to make a pcb look as good as possible by symmetry and aligning components as much as possible.

author: FrankBuss
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 12:46:49 pm
content: Quote from: jucole on May 02, 2014, 09:00:25 amWow, that's great. The lights and shadows, like a Rembrandt.

author: madshaman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:28:26 pm
content: Quote from: FrankBuss on May 02, 2014, 12:46:49 pmAgree, you have an amazing skill.

author: madshaman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 01:35:32 pm
content: I play piano and guitar. My friend at RIM (now Blackberry) used to organise guitar nights and everyone in the room was an engineer. The same friend and I played in a band (which sadly is now dissolved) but we still get together to play.I also produce music electronically and have done some work for amateur video productions (one of which won a local contest, no big deal but made me feel good and netted me a share of a new plasma TV ^^')I used to draw and do creative writing but didn't dedicate enough time to develop good technique; I still draw for fun.A large number of my work colleagues when I worked for a corporation played instruments and many quite well.

author: miceuz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 07:57:04 pm
content: Daytime java programmer, nighttime electronics guy here, bass player for 20 years.

author: bitelf
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 10:46:43 pm
content: My mother was a sculptress, painted in oil colors, trained classical vocalist as well as a research librarian and teacher (so she could eat regularly) and earlier a medical researcher; a Mensa card carrying polymath. My father the basketball coach painted in water colors. I took up acrylics so I could be oil / water color neutral and stay out of their oil / water color “discussions”, and sing low Tenor through Bass in the choir. I had nine years of formal art and five years of architecture training, practicing architecture (the combination of art and structural engineering) before switching to computer infrastructure so that I could get paid enough to support a family.The art helps me do nice Power Points and the voice training helps me in public speaking. Most (but not all) public companies are not interested in pretty data centers, just functional. Neat server racks are not necessarily pretty. My son and daughter are musically inspired but only fair in math.Rules of thumb are made to be broken.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 11:20:21 pm
content: I played in the brass section of a really good youth orchestra when I was in high school. I don't even come close to calling myself a musician though. I wish I could play jazz, but that would take more time to just get passable at this point than I am willing to dedicate.I'll stick with the engineering thing for now.

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 02, 2014, 11:45:49 pm
content: Quote from: jucole on May 02, 2014, 09:00:25 amIf art is the expression of an experience then what was the experience that led you to paint this?

author: aargee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 01:37:39 am
content: Quote from: jucole on May 02, 2014, 09:00:25 amIsn't that a painting of Dave explaining how big his new lab should be?I work in service and nearly all the best trouble shooters of problems in the field also have a creative pastime of art or music - as do I. I feel it makes you look at problems and solutions from unique angles.

author: Kjelt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 07:47:43 am
content: Quote from: lemmegraphdat on May 02, 2014, 11:45:49 pmWho told you that? Very narrow definition imo. Perhaps if you ask open questions and listen you gain better insights. Art is not solely based on rl experiences if it was, fictional stories/movies etc. could not exist. Creativity is a product that pops up when you don't expect it. If you want and need it it will hide. When you are bored or doing something totally different it suddenly flows.But then that is my personal experience and for someone else it could be totally different.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 10:28:58 am
content: Not many are fine artists, but there are a fewartists posing as engineers. Andengineers posing as programmers.For example one bloke advised me not to push too much data though a bluetooth dongle or the dongle chip can literally melt.I fired him about a month later.There are other examples, like the bloke who faked his degree... he was a con artist. He was fired eventually.Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) has a degree in electrical engineering. I guess he is an artist of sorts. A rich one at that.

author: lemmegraphdat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 12:55:26 pm
content: Quote from: Kjelt on May 03, 2014, 07:47:43 amI began with the word "if" and I did not use the word "real".

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 03:09:50 pm
content: Quote from: lemmegraphdat on May 02, 2014, 11:45:49 pmIt's not an original work, it's just a copy of a famous picture by Caravaggio; i've always liked his work so I thought it would be a nice challenge to copy.I'm not really an engineer as such, more of a midnight hobbyist who's crap at maths and who uses the back of a picture frame to solder on! :-)btw: nice piano work Frank B, i enjoyed listening to that.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 03, 2014, 05:14:55 pm
content: Not an engineer, just a field service tech who plays. I was in my college glee club and I sang in the Alumni group for a couple of years. Fast forward over 30 years, I still enjoy singing but am no longer a 1st Tenor, kind of a mix between 1st and 2nd Tenor. My mother-in-law keeps telling me to join the church choir but I don't have that much motivation anymore. I'll keep singing for my wife

author: Galenbo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 04, 2014, 09:48:13 pm
content: Quote from: miceuz on May 02, 2014, 07:57:04 pmI like the music and style, makes me think of Baxter Lilly.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 01:15:44 am
content: IMHO designing electronics and software is an art. It is creating something which only existed in your head.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 11:45:40 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 05, 2014, 01:15:44 amCorrect. I create PCB artwork for my job.

author: andtfoot
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 01:43:53 pm
content: Drummer here.Whether it's counted as being 'artistic', that's to be debated...Not an engineer though, just a hobbyist.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 05, 2014, 06:36:08 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on May 05, 2014, 01:15:44 amTrue. Especially layout, which is inherently visually spacial (sensory). Software is a little more abstract in the same way that math is. It's more intellectual than sensory, but it's still super creative.

author: ErikTheNorwegian
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 06, 2014, 04:36:01 am
content: Not, to start a New autism debate! But, it 's been debated here on the forum before, autism variant that its called Aspergers. The over represented amount of engineers that got it. The same is for artists, painters, Composers, muscians, etc. That also got the syndrom.Im a aspergers, engineer, my son to, but he do video,foto film. He is aspergers to and made this film 19 years old,as a demo of a "Russian arm". He has started his film Company as 19, o'Snap!Is in batchler study of film and tv. He film, Direct, ads Music and edit,grade, so turn up the sound. He celebrated half a million views this weekend of this clip! Red cameras, 4k Production. But he also have very good engineering skills, building his own drifting car.