Remaking the World: Adventures in Engineering
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Civil Engineering Construction Engineering Engineering Ethics Engineering Mechanics General Engineering, Engineering Science Materials Engineering Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Henry Petroski |
| Description: | Amazon.com review and description of this book: "Engineers, Henry Petroski observes, are sometimes their own worst enemies, at least so far as communicating their work to the general public is concerned. Some engineers, of course, have been exceptions. One of the unlikely heroes of Petroski's Remaking the World, an entertaining foray into some of engineering's finest (and, on occasion, less exalted) moments, is Karl August Rudolf Steinmetz, who combined a great talent for design and engineering with a keenly practiced flair for self-promotion. Another is Washington Gale Ferris, the inventor of the Ferris wheel, who concocted several dangerous eyesores before arriving at the design familiar to amusement-park patrons. Successful at explaining themselves or not, engineers are largely responsible for the world as we know it, and Petroski examines their work to discuss how good design and technology combine to produce the desired results. That combination involves much trial and error, and, as Petroski writes, "artifacts from paper clips to steamships evolve by removing some real or perceived failure of their ancestors to achieve unqualified success." Drawing on examples from past and present, Petroski offers an up-close view of how engineers do their work, and his history is full of surprises and pleasures. --Gregory McNamee " |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | history of technology failure analysis learning from failure successful design design failure critical thinking self-reflection knowledge management |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(c) Design a system, component, or process |
| Use of Resource: |
Review From Library Journal "Petroski, perhaps best known for The Pencil (LJ 3/1/90) and The Evolution of Useful Things (LJ 12/92), here collects columns written originally as essays for American Scientist, an engineering society publication. As such, the 18 selections, aimed at raising the reader's consciousness about how important and far-reaching engineering is to civilization and society, are accessible to a lay readers with an interest in technology and society. Several pieces are about particular engineers (e.g., Henry Robert, who wrote the Rules of Order, was first a military engineer) or engineering projects (the Channel Tunnel, the Ferris Wheel); others are provocative (the flaws of engineering software, the creep of technology). Always well written, though seldom off the "engineering is crucial!" soapbox, this is an excellent choice for general collections with a literate readership interested in technology?and a good gift for the engineers on your Christmas list.?Mark L. Shelton, Univ. of Massachusetts Medical Ctr., Worcester." |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Very low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | June 2010 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.amazon.com/Remaking-World-Engineering-Henry-Petroski/d |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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