101 Things I Learned in Engineering School: 2 thumbs up!

I recently came upon the book 101 Things I Learned in Engineering School by John Kuprenas and Matthew Frederick (May 2013, Grand Central Publishing).  It is part of the “101 Things I Learned Series” (billed as “books for the sophisticated beginner”) which offers entries in architecture, business, engineering, law, urban design, among other professions.

Upon first glance, I thought this little book was written for a very elementary audience.  It consisted of no more than a paragraph or two explaining each of the 101 “things”, accompanied by a simple drawing illustrating the concept.  At best, I thought that it might be a good introduction that I could recommend to anyone I knew who was considering studying engineering.

But I quickly became absorbed in this book.  These authors had gone to some engineering school!  Because yes, there were many things that I, too, had learned in engineering school — but there were several more that I had learned only after engineering work experience had piqued my curiosity.  There were more that I hadn’t even really ever thought about until reading them right here in this “elementary” book.  But most importantly, in my opinion, it captured exactly what I have found to the magic of engineering, the essence of what makes our job so interesting. Continue reading →