R0026/2026-03-25/Q001/SRC04/E01¶
Blog post documenting physical lab coats embroidered with "pretengineer" at Metrix Create:Space hackerspace, distinguishing credentialed engineers from self-taught makers.
URL: https://morganredfield.com/blog/2011/04/engineers-vs-pretengineers/
Extract¶
Morgan, an employee at Metrix Create:Space (a hackerspace), describes how the workspace created embroidered lab coats with titles:
"Most of the labcoats have the title of 'pretengineer'. The labcoats for people like me, who are accredited by some institution, have the the title 'actual engineer.'"
The author argues that pretengineers and "actual engineers" at the hackerspace perform identical work and have comparable knowledge. The distinction is purely credentialing-based, not competency-based. Morgan's thesis is that engineering is an attitude toward problem-solving: "If the first thing you do when you see a problem is think about how to solve it with math and technology, then you are an engineer."
Relevance to Hypotheses¶
| Hypothesis | Relationship | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| H1 | Supports | Documents physical-world use of the term on lab coats in 2011 or earlier |
| H2 | Contradicts | The term was used on physical objects (embroidered lab coats) — clearly documented prior art |
| H3 | Contradicts | Physical lab coats at a hackerspace represent institutional adoption, not informal usage |
Context¶
Metrix Create:Space was a hackerspace in Seattle. The use of "pretengineer" on lab coats represents one of the most tangible forms of prior art — the term was physically manufactured onto clothing, not just typed on a screen. This predates the Benn Stancil article by 13 years.
Notes¶
The blog post uses the "pretengineer" spelling (without 'd'). The term is used here in a positive/neutral sense — embracing the identity rather than using it pejoratively, which is a distinct semantic context from the Urban Dictionary definitions.