Overview

To solve their design problems engineers draw in a vast body of knowledge about how things work. This problem-solving knowledge may appear mundane or derivative from science, but in What Engineers Know and How They Know It Walter G. Vincenti shows how sophisticated and ""internal"" to engineering it really is-and how seemingly simple design requirements can have complex intellectual implications. Examining previously unstudied historical cases, Vincenti shows how engineering knowledge is obtained and, in the book's concluding chapters, presents a model to help explain the growth of such knowledge.

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9780801845888

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Reviews

'Must' reading for all thoughtful engineers and historians of technology, and even for those physical scientists who wonder why engineers frequently act and think differently than do basic scientists. American Scientist The biggest contribution of Vincenti's splendidly crafted book may well be that it offers us a believably human image of the engineer. Technology Review The biggest contribution of Vincenti's splendidly crafted book may well be that it offers us a believably human image of the engineer. Techology Review

'Must' reading for all thoughtful engineers and historians of technology, and even for those physical scientists who wonder why engineers frequently act and think differently than do basic scientists. --'American Scientist' The biggest contribution of Vincenti's splendidly crafted book may well be that it offers us a believably human image of the engineer. --'Technology Review'

Author Information

Walter G. Vincenti is professor emeritus of aeronautical engineering at Stanford university, past chairman of Stanford's Program in Values, Technolgy, Science, and Society, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

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