101 Things I Learned in Engineering School by John Kuprenas and Matthew Frederick is fascinating little book because it transforms complex, intimidating scientific theories into highly accessible “brain candy”. I tend to like things simple and “to the point”. Rather than acting as a dry textbook, it demystifies everyday physical phenomena with a charming, straightforward explanations and simple illustrations. Since I never went to school for engineering, I found many of the subjects “new to me” and interesting. Here are a few selections that stuck out:
Engineering succeeds or fails because of the black box.
The author explains that all of the knowledge and processes that we learn are kept within the conceptual black box. The input is the output from another team.
You are a vector
Every person has a gravity force vector (object that has both a magnitude and a direction) in a given direction.
When a force acts on an object, three things can happen:
Object remains in place, Object moves, and Object changes it’s shape: (Shear, Fracture, Compress, etc)
Four Material Characteristics
There are four material characteristics of objects: (1)Stiffness/Elasticity, (2)Strength, (3)Ductility/Brittleness, and (4) Toughness
Automobiles want to fly
As a car moves faster, air flowing over and under the body creates lift, the same way it does with an airplane wing — especially if the underside is flat and the top is curved. This lift can reduce traction, making the car less stable at high speeds, particularly in racing or high-performance applications.
“Cars don’t want to stay on the ground—they need to be kept there.”
Roundabouts are safe and efficient
Roundabouts reduce the number and severity of vehicle collisions compared to four-way intersections. They eliminate conflict points (like left turns and cross-traffic) and force vehicles to move in the same general direction at lower speeds. Instead of full stops and signals, vehicles yield and merge, which smooths traffic flow and reduces idling time.
Random Hypothesis 2
“There are three kinds of people: language people, people people, and object people.”
Think Systematically
Engineering problems are rarely isolated — they exist within systems. Thinking systematically means understanding how each part affects and is affected by the rest of the system.
There are many more and I highly recommend picking this little book up here
Router-Cake 