Success through Failure : The Paradox of Design / Henry Petroski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Petroski, Henry, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Engineering design--Case studies.

Engineering design.

System failures (Engineering)--Case studies.

System failures (Engineering).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (251 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. From Plato's Cave to PowerPoint

2. Success and Failure in Design

3. Intangible Things

4. Things Small and Large

5. Building on Success

6. Stepping-stones to Super-spans

7. The Historical Future

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-218) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

0-691-12225-3

1-4008-4911-X

OCLC:

858762008