Henry Petroski

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

Many of the familiar little things that we use every day have typically evolved over a period of time to a state of familiarity. They balance form and function, elegance and economy, success and failure in ways that are not only acceptable, but also admirable.

Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail.

Successful design is not the achievement of perfection but the minimization and accommodation of imperfection.

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.

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.

Science is about knowing; engineering is about doing.

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