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<p>I think a lot of this depends on what you mean by “how stuff works.” To a guy at Meineke, an engineer probably knows a lot more about how an engine works than himself. To an engineer working on engines, a physicist probably knows a lot more about the dynamics of the actual atoms’ behavior in the engine. I figure if you want to know how devices work, then engineering is as low as you need to go. If you want to know how “everything” works, then a fundamental science would be more important (though that’ll just tell you how the constituent parts work, and not necessarily how they work once put together).</p>