Too often on the Internet, irrationalism gets a bad rap, when in reality it is responsible for generating some of the most interesting and profound material. Rationalism is the dogma of the age, and it is firmly entrenched in engineering culture as the way of building systems. It isn't the only component -- we need systems where the designer had a clear vision, and a certain taste that pervades everything. Engineering students should have at least a basic background in aesthetics, because the concepts are important to building systems that have empathy for their users. (Your mother doesn't want to learn Linux, nor should she.)
Too often on the Internet, irrationalism gets a bad rap, when in reality it is responsible for generating some of the most interesting and profound material. Rationalism is the dogma of the age, and it is firmly entrenched in engineering culture as the way of building systems. It isn't the only component -- we need systems where the designer had a clear vision, and a certain taste that pervades everything. Engineering students should have at least a basic background in aesthetics, because the concepts are important to building systems that have empathy for their users. (Your mother doesn't want to learn Linux, nor should she.)
Case in point: Apple (mostly).