Phrase by 'Henry Petroski'

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As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  World , Study , Change , Change The World


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Time , Long , Bridge , Long Time


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Single , Understanding , Things , Failure


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Better , Change , Achievement , Perfect


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  People , Think , True , Racing


For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by things large and small. I wanted to know what made my watch tick, my radio play, and my house stand. I wanted to know who invented the bottle cap and who designed the bridge. I guess from early on I wanted to be an engineer.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Know , Long , Bridge , Remember


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Space , Engineers , Design , Accidents


Case studies of failure should be made a part of the vocabulary of every engineer so that he or she can recall or recite them when something in a new design or design process is suggestive of what went wrong in the case study.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  New , Wrong , Failure , Design


Any design, whether it's for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Done , Ship , Design , Airplane


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.

Author: Henry Petroski - American Author
  Wind , Down , Control , Technology


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