As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it. Henry Petroski changeengineerposition Change image and share on social
Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. Henry Petroski breakengineerfail Change image and share on social
Luxury, not necessity, is the mother of invention. Every artifact is somewhat wanting in its function, and that is what drives its evolution. Henry Petroski artifactdriveevolution Change image and share on social
I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is not that success stories cannot serve as models of good design or as exemplars of creative engineering. They can do that, but they cannot teach us how close to failure they are. Henry Petroski caseclosecourse share on social
We can't simply blame the engineers when things go wrong because, no matter how well they plan, things don't always go according to plan. Henry Petroski blameengineermatter Change image and share on social
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. Henry Petroski curiositydesignexplanation share on social
The same aspirations to celebrate and uplift the spirit that drove the Egyptians to build the pyramids are still driving us. The things we're doing differ only in magnitude. Henry Petroski aspirationbuildcelebrate Change image and share on social
Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect system is the stuff of science fiction, not of engineering fact, and so everything must be treated with respect. Henry Petroski conservativecreationengineer share on social
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. Henry Petroski 000approachaqueduct share on social
Engineering is achieving function while avoiding failure. Henry Petroski achieveavoidengineer Change image and share on social