When I was an undergraduate at the University of Calgary, there was a great deal of rivalry between the Faculty of Arts and Science and the Faculty of Engineering. At one point a disparaging, badly drawn poster similar to one shown at the right appeared prominently all over campus much to the amusement of Arts and Science students. 
Now it seems this one-upmanship between these two faculties has not completely disappeared. It was recently revived by an editorial in the National Post that reported the statistic that the membership in Al Qaeda was skewed toward terrorists with engineering degrees. In the ensuing discussion it was also mentioned that Yasser Arafat had a civil engineering degree.
G. Klatt of Calgary writing a letter to the National Post opined that “It is my theory that we observe this correlation [between terrorist behaviour and a degree in engineering] because, among disciplines of higher learning, engineering is one of those least likely to expose the practitioner to situations where he will find his personal system of values and beliefs challenged.” (continue reading…)