Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
No one wants to learn from mistakes, but we cannot learn enough from successes to go beyond the state of the art. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Everything we do is designed, whether we're producing a magazine, a website, or a bridge. Design is really the creative invention that… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Successful design is not the achievement of perfection but the minimization and accommodation of imperfection. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by things large and small. I wanted to know what made… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
What is commonly overlooked in using the computer is the fact that the central goal of design is still to obviate failure,… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Failure is central to engineering. Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation. Successful engineering is all about understanding… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Engineering, like poetry, is an attempt to approach perfection. And engineers, like poets, are seldom completely satisfied with their creations. They notice,… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Indeed, an engineer designing a structure is not unlike an artist painting one. Both start with nothing but talent, experience, and inspiration.… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
The definition of 'safe' is not strictly an engineering term; it's a societal term. Does it mean absolutely no loss of life?… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
“Greatest engineering achievements of 20th century ranked by National Academy of Engineering: 1. Electrification 2. Automobile 3. Airplane 4. Water supply and… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
I was always told that I was good in mathematics, and I guess my grades and standardized test scores supported that. My… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
“In order to understand how engineers endeavor to insure against such structural, mechanical, and systems failures, and thereby also to understand how… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
I emphasize that virtually every engineering calculation is ultimately a failure calculation, because without a failure criterion against which to measure the… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Any design, whether its for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Relying on nothing but scientific knowledge to produce an engineering solution is to invite frustration at best and failure at worst. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Any design, whether it's for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Failure is Central to engineering. Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
A common misconception about how things such as space shuttles come to be is that engineers simply apply the theories and equations… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
My first book, 'To Engineer Is Human,' was prompted by nonengineer friends asking me why so many technological accidents and failures were… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Although engineers want always to make everything better, they cannot make anything perfect. This basic characteristic flaw of the products of the… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Engineers are not superhuman. They make mistakes in their assumptions, in their calculations, in their conclusions. That they make mistakes is forgivable;… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
All conventional wisdom has an element of truth to it, but good design requires more than an element of truth - it requires an… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
It is really want, rather than need, that drives the process of technological evolution. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
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 Copy Share Image
I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is not that… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Whether or not science can be applied to that mental construct [i.e. the designed entity] is a matter of availability. If there is body… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Failures are much more dramatic than successes, and people like drama. I think this is why automobile races draw such crowds. People expect spectacular… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
The most amazing achievement of the computer software industry is its continuing cancellation of the steady and staggering gains made by the computer hardware… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by things large and small. I wanted to know what made my watch… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
The space shuttle was designed, at least in part, to broaden our knowledge of the universe. To scientists, the vehicle was a tool; to… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect system is… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
![“Whether or not science can be applied to that mental construct [i.e. the designed entity] is a matter of availability. If there is body of scientific knowledge that can be applied, then it would be foolish not to exploit it. However, if there is none, it does not mean that the thing cannot be…” quote by Henry Petroski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/17d/henry-petroski-10198_availability_whether-or-not-science-can-be-applied-to_341822.jpg)
