My software love life

BASIC my school love
Modula-2 my first date
C my girlfriend
C++ my wife
JAVA someone else's wife
and...

Python my lover. ;-P

What engineers really mean by...?

Reading the Jobs´ biography, I found a paragraph where the author says something like (sorry because I am translating straight from my memory in spanish...): "... he really knew when engineers were being just on the defensive and when there was a potential problem behind...".

I am sure this must have been essential for the this guy´s success. I think that we, engineers, are to some extent, like teenager girls in the graduation ball. Remember? "maybe" means yes, "no" means "maybe" and all that stuff. We need the Management to know when we have to be challenged. We need them to touch our heart and to know, when "no" means "no". On the other hand, engineering is about future: forecasts and uncertainty. So investigating and collecting info is critical for your bets. Let me give my basic translation table as a helpful managers' tool to handle this:

"Yes, It is possible" MEANS: "The guy thinks it is possible, what does not necessarily mean it is. Check this guy´s record and his professional reputation with others".

"No, It is not possible" MEANS: "The guy thinks it is not possible, what does not necessarily mean it isn't. Check this guy´s record and his professional reputation with others".

"No, It is not possible at all" MEANS: "The guy is most likely being on the defensive. Keep pushing until you move it to another state".

"It may be possible. We have to check" MEANS: " The guy probably does not know a single word about the topic. Look for someone else".

"Absolutely yes" MEANS: "Warning! This is a dangerous guy. Maybe not an engineer. Check his CV".

Other links and references on the topic:

http://forum.chryslerminivan.net/showthread.php/2384-What-Engineers-Say...What-they-REALLY-mean
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~udani/humor/engineers.html
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/archive/index.php/t-39066.html