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… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
When something succeeds, we learn little more from it than that it did succeed. When something fails, however, we are driven to try to understand why it failed. This leads us to investigate and study the failure until we get… — 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)
