Taking Lessons From Engineering Disasters

From NYT > Science:

Disasters teach more than successes. While that idea may sound paradoxical, it is widely accepted among engineers. They say grim lessons arise because the reasons for triumph in matters of technology are often arbitrary and invisible, whereas the cause of a particular failure can frequently be uncovered, documented and reworked to make improvements. Disaster, in short, can become a spur to innovation.

Original article first published in the Science section of the New York Times.