"i don't know if it is inherent or a result of the discipline they study."
I know; it's both. No one will go into enginerring unless he's interested in both design and technical things. The learning, and eventual work, absolurely demands abstract analytical thinking and focused attention to details.
Minute details of technical things ARE important, especially when pushing the strength limits of materials. The Morten-Thycol rocket motor engineers warned NASA bureaurcrats that the engine O ring seals might fail because of the slighly cold weather but PR and political concerns over rode engineering and, sure enough, the Apollo craft blew up pretty quickly after the fuse was lit.
