Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From ancient Greek temples to twentieth-century towers, engineers have learned more about design from failure than success. The concept of error, according to the author, is central to the design process. As a way of explaining the enduring aspects of engineering design, he relates stories of some of the greatest engineering successes and failures of all time. These case studies, drawn from a wide range of times and places, serve as paradigms of error and judgment in engineering design. By showing how errors were introduced in the design process and how they might be avoided, the book suggests how better quality and reliability might be achieved in designed devices, structures, and systems of all kinds. Clearly written, with striking illustrations, the book will appeal to engineering students, practising engineers, historians of science and technology, and all those interested in learning about the process of design.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Paconius and the pedestal for Apollo: a paradigm of error in conceptual design
• 3 Vitruvius's Auger and Galileo's Bones: paradigms of limits to size in design
• 4 Galileo and the marble column: a paradigm of a design change for the worse
• 5 Galileo's confirmation of a false hypothesis: A paradigm of logical error in design
• 6 The design and collapse of the Dee Bridge: a paradigm of success masking error
• 7 The Britannia Tubular Bridge: A paradigm of tunnel vision in design
• 8 Failure as a source of engineering judgment: John Roebling as a paradigmatic designer
• 9 The design climate for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge: a paradigm of the selective use of history
• 10 Historic bridge failures and caveats for future designs
• 11 Conclusion
• References and bibliography
• Index

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Design Paradigms is a coherent collection of essays, most of which have been published previously in various journals. The connecting theme is that engineering design is best learned and practiced by keeping in mind the lessons of engineering failures even more than those provided by successes, and that historical case studies are a good way to achieve this knowledge. In making his argument, Petroski warns against the hubris implicit in each age's thinking that it is too smart to benefit from understanding and learning from the past. The author's intellectual scalpel deftly dissects the chosen historical examples in order to characterize a variety of errors that led to engineering failures, frequently disastrous in extent. Equally, he discusses why, in other cases, things went right. The contention is that the best way to avoid failure is by understanding prior failures and performing a "proactive failure analysis." Although the book is weighted towards examples from structural engineering, this reviewer agrees that students of all branches of engineering can learn from the case studies presented. Not only engineering students but also practicing engineers will learn from the book. All levels.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Henry Petroski is an American engineer with wide-ranging historical and sociocultural interests. He earned a Ph.D. in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1968, and became Aleksandar S. Vesic professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Duke University. Petroski teaches traditional engineering subjects, as well as courses for nonengineering students, that place the field in a broad social context. One of the major themes that transcends his technical and nontechnical publications is the role of failure and its contribution to successful design. This is the central theme in his study To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design, which is accessible to both engineers and general readers. This theme is also incorporated into Petroski's The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance (1990), which relates the history of the pencil to broader sociocultural themes. The theme is expanded further, illustrating the relationship of engineering to our everyday life in The Evolution of Useful Things (1992). Petroski's most recent book, Design Paradigms: Case Histories of Error and Judgment in Engineering, is planned for publication in 1994. After that, he will begin a study of the complex interrelationships between engineering and culture. Widely recognized and supported by both the technical and humanities communities, Petroski's work has effectively conveyed the richness and essence of engineering in its societal context for the general reader.

(Bowker Author Biography)