[lolinder]

It's the same type of argument because both of them are based on the flawed idea that there's some clear dividing line that an entity falls on exactly one side of. The trouble is that there's not, for either "engineering" or "programming languages". They're both fuzzy concepts, and where you draw the line is pretty arbitrary.

Another similarity is that in both cases there is an implied value judgement—both sides of both arguments see one side of the dividing line as being "better" somehow than the other side, and want to either be included or to defend the integrity of the "better" side.