Design is nothing if not decision making. Henry Petroski More Quotes by Henry Petroski More Quotes From Henry Petroski As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it. Henry Petroski change-the-world study change world Successful design is not the achievement of perfection but the minimization and accommodation of imperfection. Henry Petroski imperfection achievement perfection It has been said, by engineers themselves, that given enough money, they can accomplish virtually anything: send men to the moon, dig a tunnel under the English Channel. There's no reason they couldn't likewise devise ways to protect infrastructure from the worst hurricanes, earthquakes and other calamities, natural and manmade. Henry Petroski money moon enough men I was always told that I was good in mathematics, and I guess my grades and standardized test scores supported that. My worst subjects were those that generally involved a lot of reading - English and history. So, having good test scores in math and mediocre ones in reading, I was naturally advised to major in engineering in college. Henry Petroski good mathematics reading history Everything we do is designed, whether we're producing a magazine, a website, or a bridge. Design is really the creative invention that designs everything. Henry Petroski bridge everything design creative My first book, 'To Engineer Is Human,' was prompted by nonengineer friends asking me why so many technological accidents and failures were occurring. If engineers knew what they were doing, why did bridges and buildings fall down? It was a question that I had often asked myself, and I had no easy answer. Henry Petroski myself me friends book Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. Henry Petroski how things engineering understanding Typically, highway bridges have about 50 years. But over in England, they have iron bridges approaching 250 years. In France, there are Roman aqueducts that are approaching 2,000 years old. So a bridge can last a very long time if it's built properly in the first place and then maintained properly. Henry Petroski bridge long-time time long We can't simply blame the engineers when things go wrong because, no matter how well they plan, things don't always go according to plan. Henry Petroski always blame engineers matter I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is not that success stories cannot serve as models of good design or as exemplars of creative engineering. They can do that, but they cannot teach us how close to failure they are. Henry Petroski good failure design success Science is about knowing; engineering is about doing. Henry Petroski doing engineering knowing science Although engineers want always to make everything better, they cannot make anything perfect. This basic characteristic flaw of the products of the profession's practitioners is what drives change and makes achievement a process rather than simply a goal. Henry Petroski better achievement change perfect Failure is central to engineering. Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation. Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. Henry Petroski things single failure understanding Failures are much more dramatic than successes, and people like drama. I think this is why automobile races draw such crowds. People expect spectacular crashes, which we tend to find more interesting than cars just racing around the track. The same is true of bridges, buildings, or any structure or machine. Henry Petroski true think racing people The same aspirations to celebrate and uplift the spirit that drove the Egyptians to build the pyramids are still driving us. The things we're doing differ only in magnitude. Henry Petroski doing things celebrate driving Betting on the success of innovative technologies in the marketplace can carry all the uncertainty and risk that betting on the next card in the deck does at a blackjack table in Las Vegas. There is a factor of randomness that must be factored in, but precisely how to do so is anyone's guess. Henry Petroski uncertainty next risk success We call the fates of the Titanic and the Concordia - as well as those of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia - 'accidents.' Foreseeing such undesirable events is what engineers are expected to do. However, design trade-offs leave technological systems open to failings once predicted, but later forgotten. Henry Petroski accidents engineers design space Relying on nothing but scientific knowledge to produce an engineering solution is to invite frustration at best and failure at worst. Henry Petroski best frustration failure knowledge I have always been fascinated by the way things work and how they came to take the form that they did. Writing about these things satisfies my curiosity about the made world while at the same time giving me an opportunity to design a new explanation for the processes that shape it. Henry Petroski me work opportunity time I'm a firm believer that no matter how small an object is, you can find interesting things out about it and its history. Henry Petroski small you matter history
