[LINK] 10 tech laws that define our world

[Kim Holburn]

On 2012/Mar/08, at 9:23 PM, Richard Chirgwin wrote:

> Ben - among engineering authorities (eg, Engineers Australia), I believe 
> the status of 'software engineer' remains contentious. Someone can 
> correct me if I'm wrong there...

I believe they are certified if that's the right word by the IEEE.  

> As for project sign-off: no, people can just "finish" their software and 
> say goodbye, without a sign-off from someone with engineering accreditation.

I'm sure if lives depend on software (and there are many systems in place where they do) then someone may well require a sign off.  Whether that does any better than careful work, I'm not sure.  There have been schemes to create provable systems but I'm not sure that's really possible.

> I certainly know about civil engineers and bridges. My brother's last 
> sign-off before retirement was the Grand Pacific Drive.
> 
> (Aside: When I discussed the NBN with my brother last year, treating it 
> as a civil engineering project, his response: "If you have the chance to 
> do it sooner, do it sooner, because it will always cost more if you 
> wait. And if you have the chance to build it to last longer, do it, 
> because replacing it will be more expensive later."
> 
> The bridge portion of the Grand Pacific Drive is rated, with normal 
> maintenance, to last for 70 years. In civil engineering assumptions, 
> that means it should probably be good for about 200 years. Although the 
> nominal life of the NBN fibre is 30 years, there's no physical reason 
> the glass won't last somewhere between 50 and 100 years. In that 
> context, I find the political excitement about the cost to be ludicrous.)
> 
> RC
> 
> On 8/03/12 8:10 PM, Ben Elliston wrote:
>> Hi Richard
>> 
>> On Thu, Mar 08, 2012 at 08:00:48PM +1100, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>> 
>>> The engineering discipline I grew up with, courtesy of my father and
>>> brother (both civil engineers), is professionally pessimistic. My
>>> father's fave example of his world view: "Pyramids were built by
>>> pessimists. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built by an optimist."
>> I recently pointed out to a friend that only civil engineers are
>> allowed to sign off on bridges.  I then asked if they could name a
>> single software project that required an engineering qualification and
>> they couldn't.  Can you?
>> 
>> I attribute the lower salaries enjoyed by software engineers to this
>> fact, BTW. :-)
>> 
>> Cheers, Ben
>> 
> 
> 
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