Hacker News Reader

Point a seems more related to the "culture" surrounding modern engineering than it does a prerequisite for the discipline itself. Looking at how SpaceX engineers produce things looks totally different (from my outside perspective) from how a civil engineer sitting behind a desk would sign off on designs. Engineers at SpaceX seem to be more accepting of failure and have the "move fast, break things" mindset that most traditional engineers don't have.

View on HN

engineers at spacex are unlikely to go to jail because one of their designs blew up, but most engineers who design bridges or buildings dont have that luxury.

Move fast, break things, pay for it with someone's life, lose your professional accreditation and maybe your freedom.

Maybe they're playing similar but different games rather than playing the same game differently.

As the article says: "bridges and buildings" engineering isn't even representative of all of civil engineering, let alone the entirety of the engineering profession. Also, not all engineers are even professionally accredited.

I'd wager that the vast majority of engineers would not go to jail if their design failed.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com