|
Loading... Success through Failure: The Paradox of Designby Henry Petroski
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendationsLoading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I was expecting an exploration of the role of failure in improving designs and how to apply the lessons we learn when we don't succeed. The amount of discussion on failure itself in this book could be condensed into a pamphlet. Instead, the author devotes the first chapter to the evolution of Powerpoint, starting with cave paintings, and numerous examples of failed structures with a paragraph or two following each example essentially saying "and they learned not to do that again". I would recommend this book for people looking for examples to support their own research into failure, but don't expect to come away from this with any new insight. (  ) csixty4 | Jun 24, 2007 |  From Booklist Civil engineer and historian Petroski interprets the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge as a cautionary tale for designers. That bridge failed because engineers made it by enlarging a previously successful idea. Wise designers, Petroski insists, must always contemplate the possibility of failure. Indeed, it is usually failure that spurs designers on toward improved blueprints. Failure-induced improvement may mean merely that lecturers can use a laser pointer in place of a yardstick, but it may also mean that physicians can turn to lifesaving diagnostic software far superior to fallible human protocols. The potential for failure manifests itself before the event to those designers blessed with prescience, but often improvements are only implemented in the wake of actual failures. From ancient Roman engineers dismayed at the failure of stone-arch bridges to twenty-first-century American architects stunned by the collapse of the Twin Towers, designers have frequently learned valuable principles through hard tutelage. Lucid and concise, this study invites nonspecialists to share in the challenge of trial-and-error engineering. Bryce Christensen Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved fringedbenefit | Mar 14, 2007 | Good title, but the rest of the book was a failure for me. I had assumed it would advance a thesis with many examples about how success had emerged from failure. It's actually more about technology history and engineering, a loosely-connected set of chapters based on some talks he did. Although I'm usually interested in a lot of obscure information, the author's writing style generally didn't engage me. "The evolution of a few technologies: From presentations to bridges" would have been a more accurate title. (  ) rakerman | Nov 6, 2006 |  no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book description |
|
Design pervades our lives. Everything from drafting a PowerPoint presentation to planning a state-of-the-art bridge embodies this universal human activity. But what makes a great design? In this compelling and wide-ranging look at the essence of invention, distinguished engineer and author Henry Petroski argues that, time and again, we have built success on the back of failure--not through easy imitation of success.
Success through Failure shows us that making something better--by carefully anticipating and thus averting failure--is what invention and design are all about. Petroski explores the nature of invention and the character of the inventor through an unprecedented range of both everyday and extraordinary examples--illustrated lectures, child-resistant packaging for drugs, national constitutions, medical devices, the world's tallest skyscrapers, long-span bridges, and more. Stressing throughout that there is no surer road to eventual failure than modeling designs solely on past successes, he sheds new light on spectacular failures, from the destruction of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940 and the space shuttle disasters of recent decades, to the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001.
Petroski also looks at the prehistoric and ancient roots of many modern designs. The historical record, especially as embodied in failures, reveals patterns of human social behavior that have implications for large structures like bridges and vast organizations like NASA. Success through Failure--which will fascinate anyone intrigued by design, including engineers, architects, and designers themselves--concludes by speculating on when we can expect the next major bridge failure to occur, and the kind of bridge most likely to be involved.
(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:22 -0400)
The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details.
Quick Links |
Wikipedia in English
