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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/rickbb80 on 2024-05-23 20:07:12+00:00.
The comments in the machine shop post reminded me of something that happened a very long time ago with a "college educated engineer".
When I was in the Boy Scouts, I was the troop quartermaster for a while. We needed a place to store and organize our camping gear, tents, dutch ovens, etc.
One of the guy's dads was said engineer and volunteered to supervise building some shelving for the small closet we had to store the gear in.
He produced very professional blueprints, (yes for simple shelves). I was only 13 or 14 at the time but my dad was a self-employed carpenter and took me along on jobs when not in school as his helper. So, I knew how to read blueprints and a bit about building shelves from wood.
I took one look at the plans and saw a very big problem and tried to point out his mistake. Which was my mistake. To say he was highly put out by being corrected by a kid was an understatement. Lots of words like I know what I'm doing, it will work don't worry, etc. The usual engineer self-righteous babble.
So, me being me, I shut up and backed off. His plan to get the shelf into the small closest? Build it in 2 halves and put each half in and then attach them together. BUT, he had no support under the split, down the middle, of each shelf.
We got it built, installed and he was quite proud of himself, "see it's fine". OK says me, lets get all the gear stowed.
First tent, (canvas about 10 pounds), went up on the top shelf, in the middle, right at the split. And it went right through that shelf and all the other shelves all the way to the floor! An entire Saturday wasted.
He stood there dumbfounded and speechless, I looked at him and said, "it needs supports under the shelves that aren't cut in the middle".
Next week I came to the troop meeting and looked in the closet, supports installed, gear arranged. He never spoke of it again.
(Edit to correct grammar)