About Quote by Henry Petroski
“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.”
About This Quote
Source Book: To Engineer Is Human, 1992
Engineering relies on anticipating failures; each calculation tests limits and informs design.
In simple terms: Engineering is about learning from failures.
Key Takeaway
Design with failure in mind.
Themes
engineering
risk management
learning from failure
Mood
analytical
cautious
Type
technical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- product development
- systems engineering
Key Concepts
failure analysis
design iteration
testing protocols
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance failure analysis with innovation?
- When is failure a useful guide?
A Different Perspective
Failure focus can stifle creativity.
![“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)
