Engineering: The Role Of Mistakes In Engineering

Although the field of engineering is one predicated on exactness and accuracy, it is indisputable that mistakes have been made. Mistakes are actually a quintessential component of learning; in many ways, without having made mistakes the human race could not have progressed as tremendously as substantiated. Moreover, mistakes are essentially the harbingers of improvement and evolution. The human race has made a great myriad of mistakes, and several of them have even been dreadful in many ways. Not only have engineers made many tremendous mistakes, but some of these mistakes have even cost the lives of numerous people. One such mistake is in the creation and sinking of the renowned ship known as the Titanic. After pieces of the fabled ship had …show more content…
When an engineer or a team of engineers designs a system or invention, they must consider all possible scenarios in which the system may be in jeopardy of putting people lives at risk. Engineers must test hazardous scenarios and speculate what will happen even in the most barbaric circumstances. In effect, engineers are able to save a lot of lives just by speculating and testing the effects of such scenarios. Referring back to the Chernobyl disaster, it can be examined that a minor design flaw caused a terrific disaster just through a simple test. According to the World Nuclear Association, “A peculiarity of the design of the control rods caused a dramatic power surge as they were inserted into the reactor.” (World Nuclear Association, 2016). As horrifying as the Chernobyl nuclear disaster is, in contrast, it can be compared to many other disasters such as the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster. The Tacoma Bridge disaster was an engineering failure which was most definitely caused by the approval of a flawed design. The light design of the bridge caused it to sway under pressure from high speed winds and was known as the Galloping Gertie. Furthermore, the Tacoma Bridge was undeniably and unequivocally undependable. In effect, on November 7th, 1940, powerful winds rocked the bridge back and forth and indefinitely tore it apart. (Pasternack, 2015). Design flaws such as these are not only entirely avoidable through proper testing and theorizing, but also quite costly as they can cause horrid disasters to occur. Above all, every engineer has a duty to uphold the ethics and obligations to all human beings by being as careful and as cautious as possible when designing systems and