In Defense of Formal Education:
All of the beefs about formal education are probably true but their veracity really depends upon the learner. Some are self-motivated; others need a syllabus and a fair amount of handholding. The plant that I managed in México had engineers coming out of its ears. The expectations of a more vigorous across-the-border trade made for many regional learning centers, particularly those emphasizing the STEM core. But at the time of the NAFTA roll-out, the US discovered China and México found itself all dressed up with nowhere to go. So the engineering degrees conferred on thousands of eager Mexicans were never worth much, economically, either to the graduates or to the Mexican GDP. Most engineers there had listless intellects because they perceived a lack of opportunity. Only the top grads, from universities like Monterrey, had the social and professional connections to become truly professional upon graduation. By contrast, I absolutely loved engineering school. I stumbled into it approaching mid-life and I had thousands of questions that needed answering. I never could have done this by simply reading books although I read a lot of books and manuscripts then and read even more now. But how does one self-learn Group Theory or Ring Theory or Statistical Mechanics or, the queen of the applied and theoretical sciences, Thermodynamics? Professors can be inspirational as any good mentor can. I was lucky to become social friends with several of my professors and this relationship continued after graduation Jason’s daughter will do great, I am convinced, in large part because she has Jason as an involved father. Damn! I wish I could afford to her. Along with the sciences and mathematics, I surely hope that there was some Literature and History classes tossed in the mix. Best wishes, Mark From: Gasification [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jason Sent: Monday, July 18, 2016 2:15 PM To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Gasification] Work Opportunities Thank your for your replies so far. Tom and Bob, I would agree with you both about formal training and would make the same comments myself. You can add me and the IntensiFire to that list for the lack for formal training. Although to be fair I was on summer break from Architecture School, which is an intense course requiring open ended solutions to the design brief. What we do as innovators is supply our own design brief, that comes out of an intellectual curiousity that can't be measured. I just hope my daughter has that level of wonder about things, and the willingness to explore. I suspect she does, and will make excellent clay for someone to mold. Heck Bob, that JE Gordon sounds of interest to me! Regards Jason On Tue, Jul 19, 2016 at 8:47 AM, Bob Stuart <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: FWIW, I went from high-school dropout to guest lecturer of graduating engineers via the library. Books are pretty good, if you understand them as you go. I understand that Universities now work primarily to create debt, passing almost anyone for money, while suppressing critical thinking. For anyone who thinks they need an engineer, I recommend the books of J.E. Gordon. They are easy reading stories about the discovery of engineering, with a few formulas in an appendix. After reading, you will be in a much better position to either do the work yourself, or hire someone who knows their stuff. I'm surprised by the depth of ignorance out there. The TV show The Big Bang Theory retains a science advisor full time, yet in 8-2, they confused the two most basic terms in engineering, strength and stiffness. Bob Stuart On 16-07-18 02:16 PM, l wrote: Jason, One of the reasons that degrees are sought after by employers when one applies is that it shows that the person has the persistence and determination to finish something and that they are disciplined enough to do so. There are exceptions to this rule where job experience can overcome the lack of degrees and in my opinion, these types of people are much more valuable having first hand "hands on" experience than those who have learned from books alone. Many employers will say that when they get a graduate they spend several years training them into a job. What I have found more specifically, a degreed person reverts to the first learned principles which may or may not apply in the situation and often stifles innovation which requires departing from the basics as expressed and or a very different vantage of the situation. For this reason, many of the best inventions are those that come out of the garage such as the early emission system for cars, the aerosol spray can, the personal computer, Apple was started in garages. A good example of this is the field of gasification and to create a value added product requires gas cleaning, and the usual approaches are those that have been used over and over again such as filters, baghouses, water sprays, absorbent media that result in systems with high down time or maintenance time such as one system with 2 hours/day maintenance which is clearly unsuitable for a commercial in our opinion and Thermogenics could have marketed such a system years ago, but has a higher set of standards and would not do so. There are also process controls, material handling, power distribution architecture, feeding, fully automated engine control system, water treatment options that are all part of the advances we have made. Thermogenics is in the process of potentially seeing some significant investment and will keep her talents in mind. Sincerely, Leland T. "Tom" Taylor Thermogenics Inc. +001-505-463-8422 www.thermogenicx.com <http://www.thermogenicx.com> Skype: ltt.invent -----Original Message----- From: Greg Manning <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]> To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Jul 18, 2016 6:31 am Subject: Re: [Gasification] Work Opportunities Greetings Jason. You have been directly involved in this list for many years now. IMO the wealth of knowlage you have contributed to the list and it's users should offset your somewhat OT request. I hope that even this type of " use " is wise and informative, who knows there might be a reader on this list that needs someone with her talents. Your length of service to this list is your legacy. Cheers, Greg Manning On Jul 18, 2016 5:31 AM, "Jason" <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Hi all, I don't know if this is an appropriate way to use the gasification list server, and if it isn't then I won't be offended to be told so. I am seeking to help my daughter find professional work now she is finished her three degrees. Her degrees are Chemical Engineering, Mathematics in Statistics, and Geology. The Mathematics is probably her strongest of the three. While I would prefer she is in New Zealand, she is happy to move anywhere in the world. It would be great to find her work with someone that can grow her broad based ability, and help her become a useful professional in bioenergy in some capacity. She has been employed with a paint company part time for the last four years, and they have found her low paid work to make up full time hours while she finds more challenging work. They will provide references as to her reliability and diligence, if they are not apparent from here degrees. Best Regards Jason Stewart www.intensifire.co.nz <http://www.intensifire.co.nz> _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/ _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/ _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/ _______________________________________________ Gasification mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/gasification_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Gasifiers, News and Information see our web site: http://gasifiers.bioenergylists.org/
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