American - Author | February 6, 1942 -
You can almost say that a design error is a human error because, after all, it's we humans who do the designing.
Henry Petroski
DesignYouSayHumanErrorAlmost
Many of the familiar little things that we use every day have typically evolved over a period of time to a state of familiarity. They balance form and function, elegance and economy, success and failure in ways that are not only acceptable, but also admirable.
SuccessFailureTimeDayBalance
I'm a firm believer that no matter how small an object is, you can find interesting things out about it and its history.
HistorySmallInterestingYouFind
A common misconception about how things such as space shuttles come to be is that engineers simply apply the theories and equations of science. But this cannot be done until the new thing-to-be is conceived in the engineer's mind's eye. Rather than following from science, engineered things lead it.
ScienceSpaceMindEyeEngineers
Any design, whether it's for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.
AirplanePotentialShipDesignDone
Indeed, an engineer designing a structure is not unlike an artist painting one. Both start with nothing but talent, experience, and inspiration. The fresh piece of paper on the drawing board is as blank as the newly stretched piece of canvas.
ExperienceTalentPaintingStart
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.
PeopleThinkBridgesInterestingWhy
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.
ChangeAchievementBetterGoalWant
Design is nothing if not decision making.
DecisionDesignNothingMaking
The space shuttle was designed, at least in part, to broaden our knowledge of the universe. To scientists, the vehicle was a tool; to engineers, it was their creation.
KnowledgeSpaceUniverseEngineers
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.
WorkOpportunityTimeMeWorldNew
Companies selling a product play down its vulnerability and emphasize its robustness. But only after technology leaves the dock is it really tested. For human operators in control of a supposedly infallible system, complacency and overconfidence can take over, and caution may be thrown to the wind.
TechnologyComplacencyWindControl
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Henry Petroski quotes