Somehow the first substitution makes the analogy more arrogant. Whereas the original comment ultimately refers to those who are qualified for engineering jobs ("engineers") the substitution suggested here implies the engineer mindset is only present in engineers.
If anything, I've seen more engineers shedding their engineer mindset, but that's another conversation. (Disclaimer: this side remark is not about "fake news" or the 2016 election)
Oh, reading it again, I agree with you. I had read your comment as if you were translating the original comment, but it's actually replacing the original terms to make the phrase more accurate.
Yeesh, no thanks. In this context that word calls to mind this passage from ItBwtCL:
...during this century, intellectualism failed, and everyone knows it. In places like Russia and Germany, the common people agreed to loosen their grip on traditional folkways, mores, and religion, and let the intellectuals run with the ball, and they screwed everything up and turned the century into an abattoir. Those wordy intellectuals used to be merely tedious; now they seem kind of dangerous as well.
If anything, I've seen more engineers shedding their engineer mindset, but that's another conversation. (Disclaimer: this side remark is not about "fake news" or the 2016 election)