I am working in a bungalow that has some old circular junction boxes. I had to remove some but reused them elsewhere. The grub screws are solid brass and are a joy to reuse. Unlike the scratchy squeaky modern steel ones with the dubious electro-plated finish that rust in no time.

Z.

It removes the "haggle factor."

Z.

i would not have written that, it leaves very little wriggle room.

I was teasing slightly, but neurodiverse folk tend to like rules, which include not only maths and physics, but also grammar.

That is not a good remark by you Graham, the stickler for "standards". Standard English is extremely important, the fact that it is being seriously corrupted, with the attendant lack of clarity and accuracy, is a complete disgrace. This recent "thing" that all faults must be apologised for in case someone has some problem is part of the general degradation of society. An electrical installation (new) is seriously defective, but the "electrician" has some problem with his understanding? That's OK then, it must be passed as excellent even if highly dangerous?  Talk about double standards!

In my view pointless, the buyer will offer what they like anyway. In Scotland I think it is part of the "sellers pack", another stupid concept as it is not properly legally binding on the contents. Let the buyer beware!

Very sad to read this "judgement". Bad spelling / grammar can be indicative of things other than a capability to do a job properly ... I needn't list the reasons here; it ought to be enough to say that Engineering and neurodiversity are often an excellent match.

+1 for that. Clear logical thinking doesn't lead to an ability to use written English - simply because written English simply isn't logical - it's a mish-mash of rules from umpteen different original languages, corrupted over time as the language evolves, with no rules for deciding which rules to apply. Just consider the old example of "GHOTI" - pronounced like "FISH".

   - Andy.

David Stone said:

That is not a good remark by you Graham, the stickler for "standards". Standard English is extremely important, the fact that it is being seriously corrupted, with the attendant lack of clarity and accuracy, is a complete disgrace. This recent "thing" that all faults must be apologised for in case someone has some problem is part of the general degradation of society

Oh well, I guess I'd better spell out the words dyslexia and dyspraxia (although these are only examples).

Your generalisation cuts off a number of VERY capable individuals. (I know I need to be very careful naming things, because not that all dyslexics and dyspraxics have issues with spelling and grammar on a day-to-day basis.)

Not everything is black-and-white, regardless of standards, as Engineers ought to know.

Chris Pearson said:

I was teasing slightly, but neurodiverse folk tend to like rules, which include not only maths and physics, but also grammar.

As above, neurodiversity comes in a number of guises, and we're not just talking autism spectrum (for example).

Until the condition affects the ability to do the job in hand, then regrettably  it becomes a disability to be managed, just as some are not good at height or in confined spaces.
Now it may be that at the sort of place I have worked there are a number of very clever boffin types. Some of the finest however are the sort you have keep away from customers, and arrange someone else to translate their notes and explanations into something more digestible by mere neurotypicals. Others are more all-round. It is the way people are. I know I'd be no good managing a post office - luckily no-one has asked me to do so, and if they did I'd hope I'd be honest enough to decline.

Back to the OP topic if one is writing reports for the digestion of the public, then it needs to be in a form they can understand. If that means getting it typed up and proof-read back at base before sending out, then so be it. Folk do need to know when their paperwork skills become an issue, then it can be fixed.

Mike

gkenyon said:

Oh well, I guess I'd better spell out the words dyslexia and dyspraxia

If by dyspraxia, you mean clumsiness, isn't that just somewhere to the left (or right if you prefer) of the normal curve with folk like joiners, surgeons (hopefully, but not always), and watch makers somewhere to the right.

But then you have things like ideational dyspraxia, which classically would be sealing an envelope before inserting a letter,  but could also be a problem for an electrician (putting a cable into a terminal before stripping it).