Henry Petroski Quotes

• The most amazing achievement of the computer software industry is its continuing cancellation of the steady and staggering gains made by the computer hardware industry.

  Henry Petroski

  Technology, Achievement, Gains

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• Engineers are not superhuman. They make mistakes in their assumptions, in their calculations, in their conclusions. That they make mistakes is forgivable; that they catch them is imperative. Thus it is the essence of modern engineering not only to be able to check one's own work but also to have one's work checked and to be able to check the work of others.

  Henry Petroski

  Mistake, Engineering, Essence

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• Nadie quiere aprender de los errores, pero no podemos aprender lo suficiente de los éxitos para ir más allá del estado del arte.

  Henry Petroski

  Success, Art, Mistake

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• Engineering is achieving function while avoiding failure.

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Achieve, Function

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• La ingeniería, como la poesía, es un intento de acercarse a la perfección. Y los ingenieros, como los poetas, rara vez están completamente satisfechos con sus creaciones. Se fijan, aunque nadie lo haga, en el mundo que no es le mot juste, o en la pequeña grieta que afea la estructura.

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Perfection, Doe

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• Failure is Central to engineering. Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation.

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Engineers, Calculations

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• The plain wooden toothpick, it may be argued, is among the simplest of manufactured things. It consists of a single part, made of a single material, intended for a single purpose-from which it gets its simple name. It is also among the most convenient and ready of things. It can be used directly out of the box-there being no instructions to read, no parts to assemble, no priming or booting required, and no maintenance expected. When it has served its purpose, it is simply discarded.

  Henry Petroski

  Simple, Names, Purpose

  Henry Petroski (2008). “The Toothpick: Technology and Culture”, p.3, Vintage

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• Form follows failure.

  Henry Petroski

  Formulario

  Henry Petroski (1996). “Invention by Design: How Engineers Get from Thought to Thing”, p.221, Harvard University Press

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• I emphasize that virtually every engineering calculation is ultimately a failure calculation, because without a failure criterion against which to measure the calculated result, it is a meaningless number.

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Numbers, Criteria

  "ASK OCE Interview: Five Questions for Dr. Henry Petroski". ASK OCE Interview, appel.nasa.gov. February 26, 2010.

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• Los estudios de casos de fracaso deberían formar parte del vocabulario de todos los ingenieros para que puedan recordarlos o recitarlos cuando algo en un nuevo diseño o proceso de diseño sugiera lo que salió mal en el estudio de caso.

  Henry Petroski

  Vocabulary, Design Process, Study

  "ASK OCE Interview: Five Questions for Dr. Henry Petroski". Interview with Henry Petroski, appel.nasa.gov. July 20, 2006.

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• Any design, whether its for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.

  Henry Petroski

  Airplane, Design, Done

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• What is commonly overlooked in using the computer is the fact that the central goal of design is still to obviate failure, and thus it is critical to identify exactly how a structure may fail. The computer cannot do this by itself . . .

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Goal, Design

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• There's so much written about the Titanic, and it's hard to separate what's fact and what's fiction. My understanding is that the way the Titanic was designed, the emphasis was placed on surviving a head-on collision.

  Henry Petroski

  Understanding, Fiction, Way

  "‘Unsinkable’ Boats Possible? Titanic Scholar Talks Design". Scientific American Interview, www.huffingtonpost.com. April 3, 2012.

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• A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident often conceals whatever lessons or caveats it might hold for the next generation of engineers.

  Henry Petroski

  Engineering, Generations, Done

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• Design is nothing if not decision making.

  Henry Petroski

  Design, Decision, Decision Making

  Henry Petroski (2007). “Small Things Considered: Why There Is No Perfect Design”, p.8, Vintage

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• All conventional wisdom has an element of truth to it, but good design requires more than an element of truth - it requires an ensemble of correct assumptions and valid calculations.

  Henry Petroski

  Design, Ensemble, Elements

  "ASK OCE Interview: Five Questions for Dr. Henry Petroski". Interview with Henry Petroski, appel.nasa.gov. July 20, 2006.

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• La estantería, como el libro, se ha convertido en parte integrante de la civilización tal y como la conocemos, y su presencia en un hogar prácticamente define lo que significa ser civilizado, educado y refinado.

  Henry Petroski

  Libro, Hogar, Media

  Henry Petroski (2010). “The Book on the Bookshelf”, p.11, Vintage

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• Our expectations for a technology rise with its advancement.

  Henry Petroski

  Technology, Expectations, Advancement

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• 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 designed, made, and used safely.

  Henry Petroski

  Mean, Availability, Doe

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• The Book of the Heart provides a fresh perspective on the influence of the book as artifact on our language and culture. Reading this book broadens our appreciation of the relationship between things and ideas.

  Henry Petroski

  Appreciation, Book, Reading

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