Are failures the pillars of success?

Abstract

Karl Popper argued that the scientific method was cyclic in nature; and that the growth of scientific knowledge took place when we focused on the falsification of theories, as opposed to their verification. We demonstrate here the relevance of these ideas to engineering processes and approaches, which can be seen as cyclic problem solving. The notion of failure plays a vital role, both in the design process and in the wider growth of engineering knowledge. Examples are given of real world failures and their contribution to the growth of knowledge in various aspects of engineering. We also show how some of these concepts are embodied in genetic algorithms, used for both optimization and design; and in reflective practice loops that are advocated for organizational learning.