Quantum Leaps

There's been a Quantum Leap in the use of Quantum Leap by cutting edge hacks and media reporters of late.

But a quantum is the smallest form of matter known to man so how does Quantum suddenly take on the mantle of something very much larger? That's a Quantum leap in itself.

The root cause of this misnomer is that the majority of my fellow countrymen are ill-educated in all practical subjects such as geography, physics and especially engineering of any form. And that's because, unlike in Germany and Italy (for example) where the title Ing Spaghetti Bolognese is used as the everyday title of an Engineer (in much the same way as we call a Doctor, Doctor), here in the UK we have mercilessly squandered, mis-matched and degraded the term engineer. And an engineer's currency has been at rock bottom for decades to the point where no modern teenager aspires to become the commonly percieved engineer; the oily handed, dirty fingernailed grease-monkey with a grimy rag in their boiler-suit pocket.

In fact, a true engineer is a qualified man probably wearing a suit and more at home calculating stress and metal fatigue than changing a Nissan's oil. If the local mid-wife gave herself the title Doctor, there'd be claims of an abuse of the medical profession. But how many times have you seen the title 'John Grimes, Motor Engineer' above a paint-peeled pair of garage doors? That's because we've happily allowed garage mechanics to upgrade themselves to fully blown engineers since cars were invented. But in doing so, what do you call the real engineers? The ones who invented the damned motor vehicles in the first place?

Small wonder that so few people study engineering these days.

And no wonder the great unwashed still think a large advance is aptly described by the term Quantum Leap.