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Henry Petroski Quotes


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Quotes by Henry Petroski

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Case studies of failure should be made a part of the vocabulary of every engineer so that he or she can recall or recite them when something in a new design or design process is suggestive of what went wrong in the case study.

~Henry Petroski

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Any design, whether it's for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.

~Henry Petroski

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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

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The paradox is that when we model future designs on past successes, we are inviting failure down the line; when we take into account past failures and anticipate potential new ways in which failure can occur, we are more likely to produce successful designs.

~Henry Petroski

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I relax by looking at things and reading about things. Even the simplest thing can reveal a great deal about the world around us. It relaxes me greatly to sit back with my feet up and look around my study at the everyday things that surround me.

~Henry Petroski

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I was always told that I was good in mathematics, and I guess my grades and standardized test scores supported that. My worst subjects were those that generally involved a lot of reading - English and history. So, having good test scores in math and mediocre ones in reading, I was naturally advised to major in engineering in college.

~Henry Petroski

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Read and write with a sensitive ear. The craft of writing is very important. Practice the craft.

~Henry Petroski

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Indeed, an engineer designing a structure is not unlike an artist painting one. Both start with nothing but talent, experience, and inspiration. The fresh piece of paper on the drawing board is as blank as the newly stretched piece of canvas.

~Henry Petroski

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My first book, 'To Engineer Is Human,' was prompted by nonengineer friends asking me why so many technological accidents and failures were occurring. If engineers knew what they were doing, why did bridges and buildings fall down? It was a question that I had often asked myself, and I had no easy answer.

~Henry Petroski

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As long as there are things to wonder about, there are stories to be written about them. That makes me happy, because writing about things seems to be my thing.

~Henry Petroski

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Biography

Nationality: American

Type: Author

Born: February 6th, 1942

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