alt Hacker NewsI work in a mid sized engineering organization, and the older engineers (and engineer-adjacent people like me) mentor the younger ones all the time.
One thing that can't be codified in procedures is what I call "situational awareness" for lack of a better term. I don't think you can learn how to work in a machine shop safely from a book. Or recognize when a complex design is heading towards being unworkable. In my organization, the older engineers have a sixth sense for projects that are going to be cancelled.
There's a reason why older drivers (up to a point of course) pay less for car insurance, yet the rules are the same for all of us.
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The nightmare of every machinist: salespeople and customers visiting the floor.
It’s because miles driven decreases with age not because old people drive safer.
> I don't think you can learn how to work in a machine shop safely from a book. Or recognize when a complex design is heading towards being unworkable.
This strikes me as something one learns very slowly over time. Safety takes time to internalize after close calls or seeing people get hurt. Same with complexity, it takes going through project after project to get a gut feeling for what works and what doesn't.