The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans

As a civil engineering graduate who was excited to read about the mysterious “engineering method” I might have missed, I was extremely disappointed to read that it was exactly the same tactics I employed to pass university courses. I would describe the engineering method as purely “finesse”, that we can achieve solutions through the most optimal route unlike the scientific method, even if we don’t know why or how the solutions works.The author for that matter is completely right. But the book felt really boring to read and initially I enjoyed the first chapters method of taking a historical example then dissecting the lessons learned, but then the same lessons were constantly repeated throughout the book. Perhaps this is a good read for non-engineers, but to summarize the contents: engineers are lazy people who can solve problems with an intuition of the physical world that others do not possess, much less know how to manipulate.If you want to become an engineer and do uni for it; be lazy, cooperation is extremely important so cheat and work with your peers, when it is time to learn and study however for exams or things you can’t cheat on, use a unique approach that works for YOU to understand the logic around the course and use 100% of your focus on how to optimally solve problems without using too many braincells.

This book was certainly not exactly what I expected but it was a pleasant surpise. Hammack provides a historical recollection of a series of essential triumphs of the engineering method while highlighting the humanity involved. Technology doesn’t just come into existence fully formed by one genius innovator, it is an iterative process comprised by the contributions of many great minds balancing limited information and resources with the tools and heuristics available to come to the “best” solutions for the available constraints. Another reviewer mentioned that there is a lack of central narrative. While it is true that individual chapters aren’t necessarily tied together in a direct linear fashion, I highly encourage readers to begin by reading the afterword and appendix as I feel these sections really provide the glue that motivates the novel. I do not agree entirely with the author’s position that referring to engineering as “applied science” is an offense to its complexity as I would argue it is actually a specialization of science onto the further constraints of human needs and finite resources just as physics and science in general are specializations of mathematics onto the constraints of physical reality but nevertheless makes an essential point about the necessary departures engineers take from the rigors of scientific fact to the empirically demonstrated rules of thumb that inform more immediate progress. This novel is an excellent addition to the all too sparse popular engineering literature. Whereas many fields of science, especially astrophysics, have great writers making their field accessible and inspiring to general audiences, it can be hard to find the same for engineering. I feel that this novel does a great job of teaching the important lessons like the necessity of failure in the engineering process to a generation of budding engineers. Often these lessons are a shock that turns people away from the profession in their first year of college engineering. So, presenting the idea that failure is just as essential as success is a great lesson to take away from this book. Highly recommended to any who are curious about or interested in engineering as a profession.

Enjoyed reading it

Absolutely wonderful read.

Im a sucker for a history book and this one was so unique! Lots of information laid out in a hardcover that is easy to understand.