--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had a lot of trouble with engineers…" description: "\"I had a lot of trouble with engineers, because their whole background is learning from a functional point of view, and then learning how to perform tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/brian-eno-776_backgrounds_i-had-a-lot-of-trouble-with-engineers-be_1566150.jpg" --- # I had a lot of trouble with engineers, because their whole… ![“I had a lot of trouble with engineers, because their whole background is learning from a functional point of view, and then learning how to perform that function.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/brian-eno-776_backgrounds_i-had-a-lot-of-trouble-with-engineers-be_1566150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/brian-eno-776_backgrounds_i-had-a-lot-of-trouble-with-engineers-be_1566150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a06/brian-eno-776_backgrounds_i-had-a-lot-of-trouble-with-engineers-be_1566150.jpg) > “I had a lot of trouble with engineers, because their whole background is learning from a functional point of view, and then learning how to perform that function.” [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engineers focus on functional efficiency, which can clash with artistic spontaneity. **In simple terms:** Engineers prioritize function over art. Key Takeaway Blend technical skill with creative freedom. Themes engineering art collaboration Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - product design - software development - musical composition Key Concepts systems thinking creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can engineers embrace ambiguity? - What practices foster interdisciplinary creativity? A Different Perspective Technical constraints may limit artistic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Engineering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineering/) [Engineers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/engineers/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to use the studio like a microscope for sound, which is what good engineers do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-wanted-to-use-the-studio-like-a-microscope-for-sound-which-is-what/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The Marshall guitar amplifier doesn't just get louder when you turn it up. It distorts the sound to produce a whole range of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-marshall-guitar-amplifier-doesn-t-just-get-louder-when-you-turn/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [It infuriates me that stuff from the Internet routinely doesn't include all the credits. Because as soon as I listen to something, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-infuriates-me-that-stuff-from-the-internet-routinely-doesn-t/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Engineers have a very limited education and background, I think you need to move into the broader humanities in order to become a total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/engineers-have-a-very-limited-education-and-background-i-think-you/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [Why do we place such a disproportionate emphasis on sporting achievement? Why doesn't success in other fields receive similar attention... Maybe it's because in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-freedman/why-do-we-place-such-a-disproportionate-emphasis-on-sporting/) Mia Freedman > [One out of every eight Pennsylvanians and one in every 720 people in the United States, as well as one out of every 50…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-sherwood/one-out-of-every-eight-pennsylvanians-and-one-in-every-720-people-in/) [Don Sherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-sherwood/) > [Of course, I have given my engineers some headaches over the years, but they go with me. I have always wanted my buildings to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-niemeyer/of-course-i-have-given-my-engineers-some-headaches-over-the-years-but/) [Oscar Niemeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-niemeyer/) > [“neighborhood was filled with engineers from Hewlett-Packard, then as now one of”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/neighborhood-was-filled-with-engineers-from-hewlett-packard-then-as/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [ \[An engineer's\] invention causes things to come into existence from ideas, makes world conform to thought; whereas science, by deriving ideas from observation, makes… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-mitcham/an-engineer-s-invention-causes-things-to-come-into-existence-from/) Carl Mitcham > [I'm going to be specific so you can render your verdict. 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There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/it-is-a-great-profession-there-is-the-fascination-of-watching-a/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [There is no demand for women engineers, as such, as there are for women doctors; but there's always a demand for anyone who can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-clarke/there-is-no-demand-for-women-engineers-as-such-as-there-are-for-women/) Edith Clarke > [Design is all about relationships. Unfortunately, many designers don’t fully appreciate this. Some of the best design work I’ve ever done was drinking coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-burka/design-is-all-about-relationships-unfortunately-many-designers-don-t/) Daniel Burka > [I had always assumed that the right way to do it was to these engineers, put them in offices by themselves with doors that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/i-had-always-assumed-that-the-right-way-to-do-it-was-to-these/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) ## More by Brian Eno > [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The lyrics are constructed as empirically as the music. I don't set out to say anything very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-lyrics-are-constructed-as-empirically-as-the-music-i-don-t-set/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/admirers-can-be-a-tremendous-force-for-conservatism/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [You can't really imagine music without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/you-can-t-really-imagine-music-without-technology/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Robert Fripp and I will be recording another LP very soon. It should be even more monotonous than the first one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/robert-fripp-and-i-will-be-recording-another-lp-very-soon-it-should/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think very often producers are really trying to repeat things. When they hear something in the new songs that they recognize as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-very-often-producers-are-really-trying-to-repeat-things-when/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I think that's very significant that we're so attached to the idea now of - it was something I advocated for years, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-that-s-very-significant-that-we-re-so-attached-to-the-idea/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They're moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-watch-any-good-player-they-re-using-different-parts-of-their/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [Songs that don't depend on composition depend instead on performance - so the fire has to be there in the playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/songs-that-don-t-depend-on-composition-depend-instead-on-performance/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I can see the use and value of religion, just as I can see the use of mud wrestling, yoga, astronomy and sadomasochism. but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-can-see-the-use-and-value-of-religion-just-as-i-can-see-the-use-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I wanted to get rid of the element that had been considered essential in pop music: the voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-wanted-to-get-rid-of-the-element-that-had-been-considered-essential/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-of-the-great/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [I had an interesting day. I was in the studio with a group of musicians, who shall remain nameless, and I said to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-had-an-interesting-day-i-was-in-the-studio-with-a-group-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) [Explore all 373 Brian Eno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) ## More Backgrounds quotes > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [Worship is not about personality, temperament, personal limitations, church background, or comfort. It is about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/worship-is-not-about-personality-temperament-personal-limitations/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [Eventually the consumer will come to appreciate the editorial point of view of every different brand. User-generated content without editorial oversight will simply be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/eventually-the-consumer-will-come-to-appreciate-the-editorial-point/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [I bring my classical training - some of it, but not all of it - and also my background and culture, to spirituals. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-battle/i-bring-my-classical-training-some-of-it-but-not-all-of-it-and-also/) [Kathleen Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-battle/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [I think it is a sin to look at another person as inferior to yourself because of race or because of ethnic background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/i-think-it-is-a-sin-to-look-at-another-person-as-inferior-to-yourself/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [The thing that is making jazz healthy today is that people are coming out of other backgrounds - from rock, folk, from ethnic music.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-taylor/the-thing-that-is-making-jazz-healthy-today-is-that-people-are-coming/) Billy Taylor > [We do not have to be ashamed of what we are. As sentient beings we have wonderful backgrounds. These backgrounds may not be particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-do-not-have-to-be-ashamed-of-what-we-are-as-sentient-beings-we/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [People from my sort of background needed grammar schools to compete with children from privileged homes like Shirley Williams and Anthony Wedgwood Benn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/people-from-my-sort-of-background-needed-grammar-schools-to-compete/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. 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