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101 Things I Learned
101 Things I Learned in Engineering School
In this unique primer, an experienced civil engineer and instructor presents the physics and fundamentals that underlie the many fields of engineering. Far from a dry, nuts-and-bolts exposition, however, 101 THINGS I LEARNED® IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL probes real-world examples to show how the engineer's way of thinking can-and sometimes cannot-inform our understanding of how things work. Questions from the simple to the profound are illuminated Why shouldn't soldiers march across a bridge? Why do buildings want to float and cars want to fly? What is the difference between thinking systemically and thinking systematically? How can engineering solutions sympathize with the natural environment?
Presented in the familiar, illustrated format of the popular 101 THINGS I LEARNED® series, 101 THINGS I LEARNED® IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL offers an informative resource for students, general readers, and even experienced engineers, who will discover within many provocative new insights into familiar principles.
Presented in the familiar, illustrated format of the popular 101 THINGS I LEARNED® series, 101 THINGS I LEARNED® IN ENGINEERING SCHOOL offers an informative resource for students, general readers, and even experienced engineers, who will discover within many provocative new insights into familiar principles.
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
26 people are currently reading
980 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
July 19, 2013
This is a classic example of one of those books that you are much more likely to buy for someone as a present than to know exactly what to do with when you get it. It consists of 101 small two page spreads with an illustration on one page and a short burst of text on the other. These are words of wisdom for engineers, or for ordinary folk who want to learn the engineering equivalent of the force.
Some of the entries are a little hokey, and sound more like a line from a self-help manual, (‘The heart of engineering isn’t calculation; it’s problem solving.’) but many are genuinely useful little engineering tips or thoughts that may have a broader application. Some give a little historical background, others showing, for instance, why roundabouts are better than conventional four-way intersections (because civil engineering is engineering too – in fact, according to another entry, the granddaddy of them all). You’ll find out why aircraft parts aren’t designed for perfect reliability (gulp) and how to stop a crack. What’s not to love?
The hesitation in that first paragraph really comes from the fact that I am an old fashioned, sit down and read a book end to end kind of person. Books like this work better as dip-in titles. Perhaps to keep in the smallest room in the house. A niche market, admittedly, but in this case a beautifully engineered one.
Some of the entries are a little hokey, and sound more like a line from a self-help manual, (‘The heart of engineering isn’t calculation; it’s problem solving.’) but many are genuinely useful little engineering tips or thoughts that may have a broader application. Some give a little historical background, others showing, for instance, why roundabouts are better than conventional four-way intersections (because civil engineering is engineering too – in fact, according to another entry, the granddaddy of them all). You’ll find out why aircraft parts aren’t designed for perfect reliability (gulp) and how to stop a crack. What’s not to love?
The hesitation in that first paragraph really comes from the fact that I am an old fashioned, sit down and read a book end to end kind of person. Books like this work better as dip-in titles. Perhaps to keep in the smallest room in the house. A niche market, admittedly, but in this case a beautifully engineered one.
May 7, 2020
An interesting book. Because I am not an engineer I found some things fascinating and some that I knew nothing about and could not relate to. This is one of those books I bought on a whim from amazon b/c some article online mentioned it. Frankly it’s a book you’ll read once, then put on the shelf to collect dust. I wish I knew an engineer, then I could give it away as a gift that would be appreciated.
November 2, 2019
Not a terrible book, since there were interesting tidbits throughout. However, this one was not on the same level as 101 Things I learned in Business School. I look forward to eventually reading Feynman’s books on the subject of physics, to at least be able to “speak the language” a bit better.
December 5, 2016
This book has some negative reviews which I assume are for two main reasons.
1. The book makes some very general statements about some very complex theories.
2. Certified professionals feel like their knowledge set, and thus their value is reduced by what could be perceived as a cheap, digestible read.
As a working professional with only a few years of experience I found the book entertaining and useful. Many of the general statements provide a useful template for explaining engineering to individuals with little or no prior knowledge of particular mechanisms. These general statements also serve as useful reminders of the simplicity of many engineering theories in a field where language is often made obscenely mathematical and convoluted.
So this book is only relevant to the layman?
I would say not exclusively.
In addition to engineering theories, the book also touches on some very basic but intuitive problem approach methods which can be useful reflection for any engineer who wants to increase the quality of their work - or even the quality of their mentoring. More accurately, this book could have been called "101 Things *You May Have Missed* in Engineering School".
1. The book makes some very general statements about some very complex theories.
2. Certified professionals feel like their knowledge set, and thus their value is reduced by what could be perceived as a cheap, digestible read.
As a working professional with only a few years of experience I found the book entertaining and useful. Many of the general statements provide a useful template for explaining engineering to individuals with little or no prior knowledge of particular mechanisms. These general statements also serve as useful reminders of the simplicity of many engineering theories in a field where language is often made obscenely mathematical and convoluted.
So this book is only relevant to the layman?
I would say not exclusively.
In addition to engineering theories, the book also touches on some very basic but intuitive problem approach methods which can be useful reflection for any engineer who wants to increase the quality of their work - or even the quality of their mentoring. More accurately, this book could have been called "101 Things *You May Have Missed* in Engineering School".
December 31, 2022
This is my third book in the series. It took me a while to go through Urban Design (my favourite though), because the field is relatively unfamiliar me and each one made me think. Advertising was a bit meh, as I felt that I knew a lot. This one was a quick read for me because I knew most of the things, but there were still insights that made me either stop and think or go "oh, is that so? I didn't know that". (Parenthetically, the most useful thing about this series has been thinking about what I would write about my own field(s), which has sparked some really fantastic ideas - or at least they seem so in the first rush of enthusiasm!)
February 4, 2021
pretty straightforward book with good life lessons embedded
November 11, 2022
Absolutely loved it. As a non-engineer with some basic physics knowledge learnt at school, this is an interesting memory jogger. Knowing that nature created meticulously by God inspires a lot of the design/engineering process is very humbling.
June 13, 2019
This book is exactly what I expected and it was great.
I have to laugh when I see books like this one receive poorer reviews because it doesn’t read like a regular book from cover to cover...
Of course it doesn’t! Why would you expect a book about 101 things to not be written page by page?
You have to judge a book on its intent and how it upholds that intent, not on what you wished it to be.
As a budding civil engineering student, I thought it was great. Something I could easily refer back to.
If you’re science/engineering minded it’s an awesome book to leave on the edge of your bookshelf and peruse every once in a while.
I have to laugh when I see books like this one receive poorer reviews because it doesn’t read like a regular book from cover to cover...
Of course it doesn’t! Why would you expect a book about 101 things to not be written page by page?
You have to judge a book on its intent and how it upholds that intent, not on what you wished it to be.
As a budding civil engineering student, I thought it was great. Something I could easily refer back to.
If you’re science/engineering minded it’s an awesome book to leave on the edge of your bookshelf and peruse every once in a while.
July 17, 2014
TIL that:
Overdesigning adds to costs.
All engineers calculate. Good engineers communicate.
See your engineering work in the framework of the bigger picture, and you'll have an easier time discerning meaning.
And various other technical stuff which doesn't stay in the brain as readily.
Nice illustrations, though.
Overdesigning adds to costs.
All engineers calculate. Good engineers communicate.
See your engineering work in the framework of the bigger picture, and you'll have an easier time discerning meaning.
And various other technical stuff which doesn't stay in the brain as readily.
Nice illustrations, though.
January 28, 2018
Cheaper than taking a degree in Engineering, a book you can dip into at any point and get an idea worth thinking about, this little compendium is good fun for starting arguments, provoking thoughts, and giving rise to deep musings on the nature of the built universe.
October 1, 2017
Who Knew?
I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Written by John Kuprenas with Matthew Frederick, and published by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group Division of Penguin Random House, LLC New York in 2018, this is a very short book of engineering principles with illustrations designed to teach a few fundamentals to non-engineering readers. Most of the chapters consist of only a single paragraph, but each chapter has at least one illustration in the form of a line drawing or chart/graph.
The book seems to be concentrated more on the principles of civil engineering, as opposed to mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer software, or any other types of engineering. Perhaps this is because it is civil engineering that is the oldest of the engineering branches. It is, as the authors point out, the “grandparent of all engineering.” Engineering has its roots in physics and chemistry, and it goes back as far as 3,000 years BCE.
Some of the facts that the authors tell us in the book are a bit arcane or redundant, but some of them are really useful information. They tell us, for example, that engineering is about problem solving, and not about mathematics and calculations. They explain how all problems are based on familiar concepts and principles, but also that all problems faced by engineers are somewhat unique. We learn the differences between force, stress and strain in Chapter 8. Did you know that, because concrete and steel expand and contract at almost the same rates with changes in temperature, steel-reinforced concrete is a material of choice for much construction in the modern world? If that wasn’t true, how could we keep our constructions standing through the change of seasons — especially in colder climates?
When reading about packaging engineering, we are surprised to learn that softer materials used for padding do not always provide the best protection for shipping fragile items as other, harder materials. That was surprising to me. To the amazement of many American vehicle drivers, we are taught why roundabouts are the safest, most efficient type of intersection, and that friction affects the efficiency of a wheel. The greater the friction, the more the efficiency of a wheel is reduced, and the more heat it produces. But if friction is reduced to zero, a wheel would not roll at all because of an absence of traction. In that case, the wheel would simply slide.
For the competitive shooters who might read this book, the authors explain why accuracy is different from precision. They also discuss variance and bias in a later chapter, but these principles all affect the way that firearms perform. Kuprenas and Frederick explain that there are always trade-offs between lightness and strength, response time vs. noise, quality vs. cost, responsive handling vs. a soft ride, speed vs. accuracy of measurement, design time vs. design quality, etc. Good design engineering does not attempt to maximize every consideration, rather it tries to optimize between alternatives.
Did you know that the primary structural design challenge of a skyscraper is not how to make it withstand the weight loads of such a tall structure, but how to make it withstand the lateral loads that result from wind and earthquakes? I didn’t. I also never thought about some good advice offered to home handymen dealing with electricity being to keep one hand in your pocket. The authors explain why in Chapter 56.
Here is one that will surprise a few people: “Air is a fluid.” In fact, all gasses and liquids are fluids. Also, heat cannot be destroyed, and cold cannot be created. We learn this in Chapter 62, when the authors discuss air conditioners and heat pumps. Speaking of heating and cooling, the earth receives about 50,000 times our total energy need over its fully sunlit area every hour. Unfortunately, given the state of technology today, only about 20% of that energy can be captured and made available to us in a useful form. It appears that solar, alone, might never be feasible as a solution to our energy needs.
Pilots and aircraft mechanics are well-aware of the old advice that a crack (usually in aluminum) can be stopped by drilling a round hold at it end. Usually, the crack will stop spreading if this is done correctly. It’s called “drill stopping.” Also, and this certainly relates to aircraft, as well, the center of gravity of an object is the point on which it will balance. The term “centroid” is also defined by the authors.
All in all, I liked this small, easy read. If you have any interest at all in what engineers must know in order to practice their profession, read this book. I would have liked it much more, however, if it had covered electrical, mechanical, chemical and computer engineering in a bit more depth. Most of it is not addressed at all in this book, which perhaps should have been titled: 101 Things I Learned in Civil Engineering School.
The book seems to be concentrated more on the principles of civil engineering, as opposed to mechanical, electrical, chemical, computer software, or any other types of engineering. Perhaps this is because it is civil engineering that is the oldest of the engineering branches. It is, as the authors point out, the “grandparent of all engineering.” Engineering has its roots in physics and chemistry, and it goes back as far as 3,000 years BCE.
Some of the facts that the authors tell us in the book are a bit arcane or redundant, but some of them are really useful information. They tell us, for example, that engineering is about problem solving, and not about mathematics and calculations. They explain how all problems are based on familiar concepts and principles, but also that all problems faced by engineers are somewhat unique. We learn the differences between force, stress and strain in Chapter 8. Did you know that, because concrete and steel expand and contract at almost the same rates with changes in temperature, steel-reinforced concrete is a material of choice for much construction in the modern world? If that wasn’t true, how could we keep our constructions standing through the change of seasons — especially in colder climates?
When reading about packaging engineering, we are surprised to learn that softer materials used for padding do not always provide the best protection for shipping fragile items as other, harder materials. That was surprising to me. To the amazement of many American vehicle drivers, we are taught why roundabouts are the safest, most efficient type of intersection, and that friction affects the efficiency of a wheel. The greater the friction, the more the efficiency of a wheel is reduced, and the more heat it produces. But if friction is reduced to zero, a wheel would not roll at all because of an absence of traction. In that case, the wheel would simply slide.
For the competitive shooters who might read this book, the authors explain why accuracy is different from precision. They also discuss variance and bias in a later chapter, but these principles all affect the way that firearms perform. Kuprenas and Frederick explain that there are always trade-offs between lightness and strength, response time vs. noise, quality vs. cost, responsive handling vs. a soft ride, speed vs. accuracy of measurement, design time vs. design quality, etc. Good design engineering does not attempt to maximize every consideration, rather it tries to optimize between alternatives.
Did you know that the primary structural design challenge of a skyscraper is not how to make it withstand the weight loads of such a tall structure, but how to make it withstand the lateral loads that result from wind and earthquakes? I didn’t. I also never thought about some good advice offered to home handymen dealing with electricity being to keep one hand in your pocket. The authors explain why in Chapter 56.
Here is one that will surprise a few people: “Air is a fluid.” In fact, all gasses and liquids are fluids. Also, heat cannot be destroyed, and cold cannot be created. We learn this in Chapter 62, when the authors discuss air conditioners and heat pumps. Speaking of heating and cooling, the earth receives about 50,000 times our total energy need over its fully sunlit area every hour. Unfortunately, given the state of technology today, only about 20% of that energy can be captured and made available to us in a useful form. It appears that solar, alone, might never be feasible as a solution to our energy needs.
Pilots and aircraft mechanics are well-aware of the old advice that a crack (usually in aluminum) can be stopped by drilling a round hold at it end. Usually, the crack will stop spreading if this is done correctly. It’s called “drill stopping.” Also, and this certainly relates to aircraft, as well, the center of gravity of an object is the point on which it will balance. The term “centroid” is also defined by the authors.
All in all, I liked this small, easy read. If you have any interest at all in what engineers must know in order to practice their profession, read this book. I would have liked it much more, however, if it had covered electrical, mechanical, chemical and computer engineering in a bit more depth. Most of it is not addressed at all in this book, which perhaps should have been titled: 101 Things I Learned in Civil Engineering School.
July 11, 2022
Not a "classic" book format, 101 things is a series that summarizes or entices further reading into interesting and important or ground breaking concepts, this time Engineering.
The 101 pages of short concepts are very addictive to scroll through and while as an engineer most are known, the succinct way of putting it with a simple graph or illustration scratches my brain right.
I ended up earmarking roughly 15/101 pages for a later reminder, whether it's something outside my expertise I want to dig into deeper or maybe it's a great summary for something I haven't been able to explain.
For 2-3 hours of light reading it was enjoyable but sometimes the entries were too short and simplistic.
My favorite parts were descriptions of common concepts like the difference between Conduction, Convection and Radiation, maybe explanations of material reliability calculations or manufacturing processing stages like molding and casting. Last but not least the mindset and systematic and systemic ways of thinking and problem solving, including accepted tolerances, reliability and failure rates. Too much to cram into a review takeaway.
The 101 pages of short concepts are very addictive to scroll through and while as an engineer most are known, the succinct way of putting it with a simple graph or illustration scratches my brain right.
I ended up earmarking roughly 15/101 pages for a later reminder, whether it's something outside my expertise I want to dig into deeper or maybe it's a great summary for something I haven't been able to explain.
For 2-3 hours of light reading it was enjoyable but sometimes the entries were too short and simplistic.
My favorite parts were descriptions of common concepts like the difference between Conduction, Convection and Radiation, maybe explanations of material reliability calculations or manufacturing processing stages like molding and casting. Last but not least the mindset and systematic and systemic ways of thinking and problem solving, including accepted tolerances, reliability and failure rates. Too much to cram into a review takeaway.
June 4, 2020
This book gives me an idea about what people learn in Engineering schools and what the main topics are. This book separates all the topics in units so it is very easy to look for a specific topic. The language the book uses is also in easy words so people who have an interest in engineering can easily understand. For me, I am currently in high school and after reading this book it made me want to pursue my dream as an engineer. I would really recommend this book to high school students who are still choosing their faculty.
September 19, 2017
A wonderful book, easily accessible to anyone even if you have no science or engineering background. Its pleasant, straightforward and well illustrated.
The best part about this is that it relates engineering to everyday life the reader can relate to easily.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest whatsoever in engineering, design, mathematics, or science or for anyone who has ever wondered why buildings stay up and machines keep running.
The best part about this is that it relates engineering to everyday life the reader can relate to easily.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest whatsoever in engineering, design, mathematics, or science or for anyone who has ever wondered why buildings stay up and machines keep running.
March 29, 2023
I bought this alongside the Architecture book (that one for the drawing tips), and as an engineer in industry I figured this would make a good litmus test of the series.
The content is presented well and demonstrates a lot of those little nuggets of knowledge gleamed through experience, explains the engineering mindset and methodology, and how it connects with the world around it.
Good for students early in the studies or career, or the casual reader.
The content is presented well and demonstrates a lot of those little nuggets of knowledge gleamed through experience, explains the engineering mindset and methodology, and how it connects with the world around it.
Good for students early in the studies or career, or the casual reader.
October 5, 2017
rychle vedomosti z roznych odvetvi inzinierstva (stavebne, chemicke, mechanicke...) doplnene o citaty a navrch nejaka ta fyzika, chemia a rady ohladom designu. ako velky fanusik encyklopedii moje srdce plesalo pri citani tejto knizky
"The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing." - Donald P. Coduto, Foundation Design
"The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing." - Donald P. Coduto, Foundation Design
May 12, 2020
Great read, I would totally recommend it for anyone interested in engineering.
The main issue I have with it is that it should better be called "101 Things I Learned in *Civil* Engineering school". Most of the concepts discussed (70-80%) are only about civil engineering and are thus not very generalizable to other areas.
The main issue I have with it is that it should better be called "101 Things I Learned in *Civil* Engineering school". Most of the concepts discussed (70-80%) are only about civil engineering and are thus not very generalizable to other areas.
June 12, 2021
Learning the difference between “thinking systemically” and “thinking systematically” alone is worth the price of admission. A bonus is knowing there are three types of people - language people, people people and object people. Oh, and here is the ultimate bonus - “the most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing”. Love this series!
September 2, 2023
I'm really enjoying these 101 Things I Learned in... series. Again, for someone with no engineering background, this book was a fun way to get a glimpse of how engineers think and prioritize. It's really problem solving using numbers, and I loved the real life examples that highlight both great and disastrous outcomes.
January 9, 2024
Ok let's say I finished this. I did flip through this a bit and it has been quite interesting. At the time, I don't think I knew enough about Physics to be able to get what some of it is trying to say though. It's the kind of book you have to keep on your desk to have a flip through every now and then for some inspiration.
September 27, 2017
A gift from my wife, this was a fun book to read a page or two at at time at work. While it is more like "101 things I've found interesting in my career as a civil engineer" (a bit less general than the title), I found it interesting, and marked a half dozen of the illustrations for use in future powerpoint presentations because they were good illustrations of important fundamentals.
October 25, 2017
Excellent summary of the multitude of ways the tenets of engineering guide engineers in all facets of their lives, and how us non-engineers can apply such skills to our decision-making and other thought processes, including, among others, logic, organization, mechanics, and physics.
July 6, 2021
Beautifull cover.
Warrants a place in a highly visible shelf.
A bit to condensed for my taste.
Could've used an example of each "thing", and left/right page not always alligned?
Did learn a thing or 2.
Warrants a place in a highly visible shelf.
A bit to condensed for my taste.
Could've used an example of each "thing", and left/right page not always alligned?
Did learn a thing or 2.
April 25, 2024
I really enjoyed this. It made me think more deeply about my future career and it made me love what I’m pursuing even more. Cheers to the journey of learning more and growing the love for what you do!
February 8, 2018
Good casual book that can be read in short bursts. The information is useful, if not superficial at times. It was well worth the time to look through, in my opinion.
December 12, 2018
I am now an engineer
December 15, 2018
A fascinating bite-size treat of a book.
December 25, 2020
Received this as a gift since I'm an engineering student. Learned some things, knew some things, overall it was a quick browse.
September 6, 2021
Learned some new concepts, this is a fun and easy book to page through and has some interesting ideas 3/5
February 18, 2022
A great book with lots of concepts applicable for those with an architectural degree formation
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews