How Engineers Think and Implications for Public Interest Technology

Over the recent winter holidays, in a casual conversation with some engineering friends, I brought up the role of engineers in the Cahora Bassa Dam of Mozambique, a project I highlighted at the recent IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society 2020 (ISTAS20) Conference [1]. During the construction of the dam, local knowledge of drainage and seasonal river patterns were ignored by European and American engineers, which resulted in tragic consequences for both the environment and the welfare of the indigenous villages along the wide and mountainous Zambezi River [2]. In response, one of my (anonymous) friends declared, “Well, that's not the engineer's fault. The engineers were asked to optimize the placement of the dam, so they optimized it. Those consequences are the fault of the manager who scoped out the project!”