I always envy the architect's when it comes to the creativity process - Yes it's true, I'm civil engineer! - not only for their effort of trying to create something unique by also there enthusiastic when talking about their creations, favourite architects and favourite buildings.
Just ask the average civil engineer what is his favourite engineer and building/bridge/construction and compare the answers with any architect or even an architect student. There is an obvious reason (or reasons) for our ignorance related to our colleagues work and are most impressive engineering achievements.
It all starts in the fresh year at the University, the majority of the students have a weak background on engineering knowledge, and it is comprehensive because they shared the same ignorance of the public when it came to the civil engineering job.
Only with time and a lot of headaches we start to realize the potential and challenging job of any engineering profession. But before that, we are bombard with mathematics and physics without real understanding their purpose. So, we are "forced" to learn them and, after the final exam, we quickly forget this precious knowledge and their masters: Archimedes, Euclid, Euler, Gauss, Laplace and even Newton.
Actually I have a lot of colleagues that think its pointless to get so deeply into the natural sciences. Most of them view themselves as construction engineers and so concerned only with planning, management and execution of the designs from other engineering specialities and architecture.
That's why I think nowadays there are construction engineers poorly skilled engineers.
The same can applied to structural engineers that reliable just on computer software or on design solutions already learned and followed before without question if they can applied to a different structural problem.
What about the creativity?
I honestly believe that nowadays most engineers are unconsciously not educated to keep an open mind and spend time thinking on problem to create an original design solution but to be efficient and look for the normal reliable solution from the books, standards, codes and classes... without question.
Interesting study
When navigating on the Internet looking for some guidance on the subject I found out a really interesting american study from 2007, on the Journal of Mechanical Design of ASME, that invokes the barriers to creativity in engineering education. It's worth reading about the background of engineering education and ten maxims of creativity in education (basic simple maxims but missing on our education as engineers!).
A blog I will start to follow...
A book I'm thinking about reading...
