Engineers of the Jihad

Engineers have long been criticized as being insensitive to how impacted by their projects, the best example being the devastating impact that our interstate highway system has had upon water quality, livable communities, and air pollution. An excellent book – Engineers of the Jihad – explains why.

Engineers of the Jihad explains why so many of the leaders of the Muslim terrorist were engineers (Osama Bin Laden was a civil engineer). It also explains why so many engineers choose fascism over communism.

A key takeaway from the book is that the analytical mindset of engineers makes it hard for them to see the broader implications of their work. In essence, engineers are good at seeing the “trees” but are unable to see the “forest”. No wonder America continues to expand a highway system that kills 40,000 people a year directly and another 100,000 by air pollution. No wonder that same highway system has such a devastating impact upon water quality, imposes noise pollution upon so many neighborhoods, particularly those occupied by the poor, and contributes to the epidemic of obesity.