We can't simply blame the engineers when things go wrong because, no matter how well they plan, things don't always go according to plan.

No design, no matter how common or seemingly insignificant, is without its adamant critics as well as its ardent admirers.

Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail.

As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it.

We call the fates of the Titanic and the Concordia - as well as those of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia - 'accidents.' Foreseeing such undesirable events is what engineers are expected to do. However, design trade-offs leave technological systems open to failings once predicted, but later forgotten.

Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect system is the stuff of science fiction, not of engineering fact, and so everything must be treated with respect.