Scientists and engineers are stereotyped as boring, humourless, stiff and staid beings. The actuality is a bit different. Say the words “flip flop” and people hop, even if they are wearing designer flip flops, to the conclusion that you are referring to living politicians (remember the famous pronouncement: only dead people do not change their minds).
But electronic engineers, decades ago, designed digital electronic circuitry calling them flip flops. These were two-state devices (on/off, yes/no) and were used in the design of computers. Also, not being politically sensitive, other circuits were designated as master-slave devices.
Abbreviations do lend themselves to cross-cultural and colourful pictorial aids. Aloo is the name of the Arithmetic Logic Unit in a microprocessor. Got it? ALU, yep logical is it not? See, when you have the 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm “graveyard” shift teaching working engineers at the Master’s level, you have to keep their attention, for the rate of their rate of decreasing attention leads to an increase in the acceleration of narcolepsy.
So humour is essential if you do not want to lecture to a classroom of sleeping students. Tell them that PM not only stands for Preventive Maintenance but also to the handle unlovingly attached to men perceived as weak, and you are guaranteed mindful attention.
Innovation, the recent buzz word, has always been integrally embedded in scientific research. Maybe that is why academics tend to be viewed as obnoxious for they tend to ask questions. Buzz words like “critical thinking” and “creativity” are now all part of the public lexicon.
As an engineer I would like to introduce a new phrase, “thinking under the box.” That would represent the kind of “outside the box” thinking one hears from the media-covered intelligentsia. The kind that is so precious it should be kept under wraps. Seeing the light under the tunnel?
The saying “fitting square pegs in round holes” really demonstrates a lack of creative oomph. It is meant to indicate that the person’s education and or experience is not quite what is required for the job. In other words there is a mismatch.
But a circle can circumscribe a square and it can also fit into a square. Mathematicians will tell you and show you how a square can be constructed from a circle and vice versa. This relationship has existed since ancient times. Indians have used it extensively in yantras (geometric shaped drawings used in religious ceremonies) as well as many others. This idiomatic expression is thus in need of some upgrade. How do you, in one word, call a square peg in a round hole? Caught you now, no?
Words have the inherent characteristic to conjure up powerfully apt visual images. Square pegs (not suitably qualified persons) can be fitted into round holes (offices), from observation, by obreption and obnubilation. Obloquy should be directed at such obscene obduracy. Fittingly, a generic name should be given to people.
In Botany, the prefix “ob” is used before adjectives to indicate “inversely or the opposite direction.” So let us apply some fuzzy logic and also draw upon the domains of humour, languages and sound. Oblong keeps the geometric basis and transposing Latin procedure to English domain; oblong may be interpreted as “the opposite direction of long.” This would be apt as we want to shorten this practice.
But “oblongs” just does not cut it. So reverting to standard engineering maths procedure, we transpose the result back to Latin. It becomes Oblungo. Better but not quite. The feminine of oblungo is oblunga. This sound right. They should be called the “Oblungas.” Engineering humour?
