March 2010
Beginner
448 pages
8h 43m
English
book
The Design of Design: Essays from a Computer Scientist
by Jr. - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Frederick P. Brooks
Content preview from The Design of Design: Essays from a Computer Scientist
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
Start your free trial
14. How Expert Designers Go Wrong
Collapse of the aerodynamically misdesigned Tacoma Narrows BridgeAP Wide World Photos
I beseech you, in the bowels of Christ, think it possible you may be mistaken.
OLIVER CROMWELL [1650]
But when I make a mistake, it is a beaut!
FIORELLO LA GUARDIA
The besetting mistake of expert designers is not designing the thing wrong, but designing the wrong thing.
Mistakes
In any field, the amateur makes lots of little mistakes that a professional would never make. Training, internship, and practice have drilled the professional on good technique.
Professionals, when they goof, do it in a big way—making bridges that collapse ...