Any design, whether its for a ship or an airplane, must be done in anticipation of potential failures.

A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident often conceals whatever lessons or caveats it might hold for the next generation of engineers.

What is commonly overlooked in using the computer is the fact that the central goal of design is still to obviate failure, and thus it is critical to identify exactly how a structure may fail. The computer cannot do this by itself . . .

Engineering is achieving function while avoiding failure.

No one wants to learn from mistakes, but we cannot learn enough from successes to go beyond the state of the art.

Our expectations for a technology rise with its advancement.

The bookshelf, like the book, has become an integral part of civilization as we know it, its presence in a home practically defining what it means to be civilized, educated, and refined.