You Might Be Wrong About Engineering | Linnea Engstrom | TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool 

Two things I’d like to comment on: 1) This is by far the most underrated, inspiring TED Talk I’ve ever watched. ANYONE considering humanitarian engineering or even STEM in general should be watching this, and it points out how engineers need to work around the harsh reality of poorer communities’ conditions, which is a concept which is barely covered at all for some reason. Amazing speech! 2) Whoever wrote the description for this video should be ashamed of themselves for obviously not watching the video at all or not caring about its contents. The speaker never talks about feminism or women in STEM except for one partial instance at the end (where she refers to children as “girls”) and that’s it. You’ve used an inspiring, honest, dedicated young person to fuel your own agenda and thus have disrespected the speaker and her ambitions and have likely been the reason why this speech hasn’t gotten more attention. Ah, sorry about the rant. Tl;dr - Incredible, underrated speech! Whoever wrote the description should be fired, though.

Here is a smart young woman, graduating with a difficult degree from a top rate school, committed to her field. Why the negative comments? She is serving as a great example to young men AND women considering engineering as a career.

This is so inspiring. Before this, I thought that engineering and practical skills were not for me, but this speech explores the ignored needs of the globe, which perfectly matches my interests. Environmental/Humanitarian Engineering here we come!!

If you look at the puddle of water it appears to be a standing puddle of muddy water. why didn't they just dig irrigation or run-off trenches to drain the puddle so then the spout wouldn't be under the water anymore?

These comments are hilarious. Never discount someone's hard work and kindness. Her intelligence cannot be quantified.

Trust me I'm an Engineer

LOOK AT YOURSELVES!

Hey it's so great engineer Barbie has come out to darkest Afrika. 10 minutes talking to the local natives, a typical plastic pipe fitting and duct tape solution and she can go on RU-vid as another western female hero. Ra, ra, ra. Oh Lord I've met so many Barbies and Kens in the passing 50 years. I've encountered them in conservation, in education, in engineering. The recipe (figuratively) is the same. 10 minutes on the problem, some fencing wire, a roll of duct tape and some chewing gum. Obviously the duct tape the engineer uses is different to the one used by the educators or the social services. In that same 50 years I've seen some amazing development. The one thing these SUCCESSFUL projects share is a deep understanding or the problem, the social constraints and the onslaught of abuse the system will experience at the hands of non mechanical/literate/environmental users. You don't achieve this depth of knowledge during a two week holiday in the delightfully primitive velt, all set around with thorn trees and suitable big game. You get it (if you get it at all) while tormented by flies in hot and uncomfortable places after months on end. You get it while trying to sleep in a hot little room, plagued by mosquitoes. Please come out to Africa on safari. Be sure to pack your khakies, dark green blouse/shirt and bush hat. Don't forget the essential hiking boots. We'll arrange plenty of Selfie opportunities. The tour operators will introduce you to plenty of big game and tourist appropriate local natives. You can share your exciting experiences on Facebook whenever you have network coverage. You won't meet the people making a difference though, they are not photogenic. They arent great at interviews. They are too focused on achieving results. The young engineers among this group are my ABSOLUTE heros even though they got their degrees 30 or more after I got mine. The western Barbies and Kens do these incredible heros a grave disservice with their quick fix videos.