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Man fined for criticizing govt using science, without a license
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basinstreetdesign:

--- Quote from: coppice on April 26, 2017, 10:59:44 am ---
--- Quote from: Red Squirrel on April 26, 2017, 10:35:24 am ---That's freaking ridiculous.    Having to be "registered" to practice engineering is a thing... wow.  I don't want to live on this planet anymore.  Seriously, this kind of stuff pisses me off and it's all over.  So much ridiculous legislation like this everywhere you turn and it's only getting worse.

--- End quote ---
Its common around the world that civil/structural engineers need to be registered and licenced. Since public safety rests on their work, its not unreasonable, and the licencing rules were often the result of some nasty incidents of poor engineering. Electronics is an oddity. Almost all electronic equipment is designed by people with no professional licencing, but the people doing the simple installation and maintenance of such equipment frequently do require a licence.

--- End quote ---

I'm in Ontario and a member of Professional Engineers Ontario.  They've been taking my dues money for decades.  I fully understand and agree with Coppice and with the principles involved with making sure that engineers who design buildings, bridges, water systems, vehicles must be verifiably expert in what they do.  There's no way I want to drive across a bridge designed by a hack or live/work in a multistory building designed by guess and by golly.  A couple of years ago we had a case where the roof of a shopping mall fell in because the owners, builders and the project engineers decided to cut some corners and save some money.

On the one hand the PEO do seem to be hyper-sensitive about non-members calling themselves "engineers" I can understand it.  But OTOH they dont seem to know what to do with those who design electronics and generally look the other way.  I think its because they assume that life or property won't be put at risk if a transistor loses its magic smoke.

So I agree with the Oregon chap and his altruistic tilt at this particular windmill but he should have known when and when NOT to claim his status as an engineer.  Or else go get registered THEN go tilting.  I can see the Oregon authorities point but they should also not throw the baby out with the bathwater and completely ignore the safety issue.
james_s:
Even if it were undeniably illegal to call oneself an engineer without the proper certification, in this case it seems pretty clear the guy was right so they are only doing this to save face and distract from the real issues he has pointed out. Seems like an effort to discredit him and blow off his findings more than anything else.
langwadt:

--- Quote from: brucehoult on April 26, 2017, 07:35:41 pm ---
--- Quote from: mtdoc on April 26, 2017, 06:44:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on April 26, 2017, 06:10:50 pm --- In the 20 some years I've been driving I've never hit anything, never had a ticket, never even so much as a parking ticket, but I've lost count of the number of times I've been rear ended. It's frustrating beyond belief.

--- End quote ---

We all know that correlation != causation, but still, you might want to consider the possibility that there is some cause and effect relationship there.  :)

--- End quote ---

You are legally allowed to stop at any moment, without warning. It is ENTIRELY the responsibility of any following vehicle to maintain a separation sufficient to allow them to stop if you do.

--- End quote ---

yes but, at least here, if you cause an accident by braking for an animal smaller than a dog you will most likely get half the blame

chickenHeadKnob:

--- Quote from: langwadt on April 26, 2017, 10:18:01 pm ---
--- Quote from: brucehoult on April 26, 2017, 07:35:41 pm ---
--- Quote from: mtdoc on April 26, 2017, 06:44:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on April 26, 2017, 06:10:50 pm --- In the 20 some years I've been driving I've never hit anything, never had a ticket, never even so much as a parking ticket, but I've lost count of the number of times I've been rear ended. It's frustrating beyond belief.

--- End quote ---

We all know that correlation != causation, but still, you might want to consider the possibility that there is some cause and effect relationship there.  :)

--- End quote ---

You are legally allowed to stop at any moment, without warning. It is ENTIRELY the responsibility of any following vehicle to maintain a separation sufficient to allow them to stop if you do.

--- End quote ---

yes but, at least here, if you cause an accident by braking for an animal smaller than a dog you will most likely get half the blame

--- End quote ---

I apologize in advance for contributing to this of topic thread drift. In Canada there has been a recent test case on exactly this situation:  Woman convicted for stopping for ducks on hiway, her action resulted in 2 deaths.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/prison-on-hold-for-woman-who-caused-2-deaths-while-trying-to-help-ducks-1.2181443
james_s:
While stopping in the middle of the highway to help ducks seems like a dangerously foolish thing to do, I still don't see how this is her fault. What's the difference between stopping for the ducks and stopping for a person or because traffic ahead is stopped, from the perspective of cars coming up behind? Each person is 100% responsible for driving at a safe speed for the conditions and maintaining a safe distance between vehicles such that they can stop under any circumstances without hitting the car in front of them. Without even seeing the scene, I can say with reasonable certainty that the people who were killed were traveling too fast for the conditions.
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