Henry Petroski said this quote

“ 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. ”

Famous Quotes of Henry Petroski

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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

Henry Petroski Technology Science

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.

~ Henry Petroski

Henry Petroski Successful Engineering

Engineering is achieving function while avoiding failure.

~ Henry Petroski

Henry Petroski Achieving Engineering

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

Henry Petroski Future Past Successful