i totally agree with jakey on that point. there are seniors here taking 500 level engineering courses like advanced internal combustion engine fundamentals (the prereqs for the course alone are insane) that cannot talk about engines in the real world for even 1 minute w/o getting very confused. give them a list of equations, SI units, and diagrams in a book and they can do it. try to talk to them about the 4banger in their accord and they just get lost.
i think the best engineer is a delicate balance between book nerd and self taught mechanic
