it depends of the mood of the engineer, if he is trying to solve a difficult problem then you could share his interest in case you are in the same roof for the problem, but he may be tired or thinking there are barrier that he will never be able to jump over and you could exacerbate that sensation if you don't know about the problem.
Perhaps that person has a blog and you can understand what he is doing and what are his goals, that should be interesting. The impression you give depends of what the other person expect from you, are you ready for the work you are supposed to do?
I think you should have a fixed position (perhaps you are eclectic) and try to convince someone, then try to change the position and think otherwise. To convince someone is to know about what they expect, some psychology required.
The best thing is to have something interesting to say. Why do you want people to read you? Do you have something interesting to say? Are you going to write a book?
I should like to learn to use AWS without risking being overcharged (a guy went from 200$ to 50000$ next month). You could make a web like try AWS anonymously without risk.
Long time ago I read a post by Mathew Flatt about LLVM and gcc and how mini optimization and selling points were important not able to find the post, but it was a interesting read.
I think a mini browser with only the capabilities required to make a secure transaction should be used when sensitive information is to be transmitted. A full browser with add-ons is a very heavy piece of work to be secure or to be tested. Banks and other actors should use that piece for secure transactions and a full browser for ads and animations.
Unfortunately the word free is a little ambiguous since it can be free (as in beer) but suddenly you are charged because you make something stupid (or someone hacked your account and created a zillion services)
My idea of a secular community. Every member put 100 dollars on the table, then people decide what to do with that money, REPL. That force people concentrate on actions and look for directions or goals.
Just reading your comment I was thinking about the closed world assumption in logic (prolog), perhaps there are some middle concept between the Proof by Contradiction and the closed world assumption. In the real world we learn concepts (think about relativity or a non planar world) and then the old question is no longer a two value alternative.
Perhaps something like: In this field a new conception could appear that would invalidate what we consider today to be only two alternatives. Is not about many worlds reality or quantum computation, (3 minutes thinking time out).
Just suppose the adult say to the robot: I will give you this big check, with that money you can save the life of many thousand people that are starving from malnutrition, would the robot accept the check?
Perhaps they should get less tanks and use the better their money? Greek has more tanks than Germany and France together. A huge army for a little country.
What happens when you use game theory in a rough political situation? We will see it soon. We are entering in an uncharted territory, the risk has increased. This kind of negotiation is going to settle a new battle field in politics and as in any battle there can be huge losses.
Perhaps that person has a blog and you can understand what he is doing and what are his goals, that should be interesting. The impression you give depends of what the other person expect from you, are you ready for the work you are supposed to do?