system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is social engineering?

Is it a science or a manipulative technique? Why does it often have negative context?
gpt
Social structures can be 'hacked' just like physical and digital structures can - and it's often easier to approach an intrusion problem from this standpoint.

Actually hacking into the DMV database is a relatively difficult task. However, pretending to be an IT consultant and tricking those with passwords to the database into revealing them is comparatively easy. That no-tech-skills-required approach is 'social engineering'.

As for being a science, no. It's no more a science than selling used cars is a science. It's mostly just being able to interact with people effectively.

In terms of a negative context, social engineering is fundamentally about tricking people into doing what you want them to do. While it often involves a degree of research - you need to know who the gatekeepers are before you can trick them into opening the gate - it's little different than any other con game.

From the standpoint of the hacker community, it's also often considered a 'lesser' form of hacking. Hacking is, in some ways, a competitive intellectual activity. It's not just enough to intrude into a privileged system but you have to do it in a clever or skilled way. Hacking a shipping database to have the next delivery to your local supermarket directed to your doorstep is cool. Throwing a brick through their window at night and carrying off that delivery is not.