AS in an electronics magazine

[Canopus]

It's all geek to me

by Alex Mayhew-Smith

 

Electronics Weekly

 

Thursday 14 October 2004

 

Science and technology continues to suffer from the many stereotypes associated with the profession.

 

It is one of the reasons getting children to show an interest in science and technology is so difficult. Not least of the problems is the image of the scientist as a geek, unhealthily obsessed with detail and socially awkward.

 

But why has this image become associated with the technology professions and what damage is it doing to the recruitment of the next generation of engineers?

 

To some extent the image of the scientist as a geek is self-perpetuated. Earlier this year a US engineer called Jon Blake Cusack named his son Jon Blake Cusack 2.0. The inevitable chat sites discussed the matter and surely it could only have been an engineer who asked the question what happens when he gets his first teeth? Should he be renamed 2.01?

 

Of course the media leap on a story like this because you have an easily recognised stereotype and it is funny. Yet it certainly does not help promote engineering to the wider world.

 

But is there some core of truth that has become exaggerated by the media over time that can account for the perceived characteristics associated with the tech geek?

 

There has been some suggestion that there may be a link between the skills required in engineering and the unusual mathematical or logic abilities of those with autism and specifically Asperger's syndrome.

 

The UK's National Autistic Society says the traits common to Asperger's syndrome are: "Difficulty in communicating, difficulty in social relationships and a lack of imagination and creative play."

 

"People with Asperger syndrome usually have fewer problems with language than those with autism, often speaking fluently. People with Asperger syndrome do not usually have the accompanying learning disabilities associated with autism; in fact, people with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence," says the society.

 

Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of developmental psychopathology at Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre, says: "What we have established is that fathers and grandfathers of children with autism are more likely to be working in the field of engineering; scientists in the fields of engineering, maths, computer science and physics are more likely to have autism in their family.

 

"Professionals in the above fields have more autistic traits, compared to those in the humanities. You asked why. We think it is because a key area of strength in autism is the ability to systemise," says Baron-Cohen.

 

The stereotyped image of the technology geek is one reason why there are fewer women in engineering. Nick Kalisperas, a director at trade association Intellect who has been working with the DTI on a programme to encourage women into engineering, says: "It is not just engineering but all science and technology where there is an issue of image. There are two stages where we can try and change this. The first is at school where we can encourage youngsters to understand the breadth of opportunities in science. The second is to encourage returners - people who have stepped outside of their chosen career." Getting a variety of people into the profession is the key, says Kalisperas.

 

"Look at the Google founders, they seem very different, more like mainstream entrepreneurs. We can move slowly away from the stereotypes - media friendly people in science are emerging," adds Kalisperas.

 

Even Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have had image makeovers in the past few years, says Kalisperas.

 

But at the British Computer Society Andrew Brown, chairman of the young professionals group, says: "You will never shake the image of IT being a geeky area. You have to have people who love to solve problems and physically write code."

 

One answer is the changing skills required of programmers, says Brown. "A few years ago PriceWaterhouse Coopers wanted great programmers and they now say they want someone with a business mind, maths skills and presentation skills as well."

 

But what can you do when the media perpetuates the stereotyped image of the scientist all the time. It is fed to children constantly: the geeky, mad, or evil scientists in Bond films, or Back to the Future films, or in cartoons, or TV advertising.

 

At the Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) a spokesman points out that engineers reached their watermark in terms of the public's perception of their work after the war. "It was this idea that the back-room boys had won the war," he said. Since then that perception has sunk.

 

In a SEMTA survey just one per cent of girls between seven and 11 wanted to become engineers and one in six boys. The main stumbling block is that children's image of engineering does not incorporate the high level design work that the technology industry involves. Basically, they see it as a dirty, oily job.

 

Catherine Teague, senior executive at the ETB who focuses on career development, says it is also to do with how parents conceive of science and engineering. Children's perception of the profession tends to match those of their parents.

 

Engineering can certainly do without the geek stereotype and a better understanding of high-level electronics design could be one way of changing that.

[baddad]

Interesting article, canopus, if only for the sweeping generalisations!

One thing it completely overlooks, though is that 'geekiness' CAN be very, VERY cool (The music industry is full of fabulous geeks - David Byrne , Graham Coxon, Brain Eno, Jarvis Cocker.... The list is endless), and 'geek' culture is expanding out of the computer clubs and science huts and into the mainstream. There was a programme on last week about disability, looking at hearing aids built into spectacle frames, and they commented that specs have become a fashion accessory, with people with 20/20 vision buying them with 'plain glass' lenses!

 

I don't think the answer is to take 'geek' out of science/engineering, but to challenge the negative assumptions that are made in relation to 'geekiness'... after all, where would we be without the geeks? (What did the geeks ever do for us? BBC2 9.30 )

 

Given a choice as to who I'd want in charge - Geeks or Spearchuckers, I know which one I'd plump for! The latter wouldn't HAVE anywhere to go and pump iron if a geek hadn't designed it for 'em

 

Long live the Geeks!

 

L&P

 

BD

[Canopus]

Something I find worrying is that employers of engineers and programmers are increasingly wanting well rounded people with lots of "soft skills" like management, team building, business awareness, and knowing when to wear the right colour tie, as opposed to people who are technical experts. This means that people with AS could find themselves virtually unemployable and unable to put their skills and abilities to good use.

 

Perhaps it is an attempt to try and shrug off the nerdy geeky image from engineering and computing careers in the attempt to attract more people. Another explanation is that employers want employees to be everything to everybody rather than focus on what they are best at.