Ancient engineers: let’s make it work.
Modern engineers: we need to make sure it breaks at approximately 36 months to ensure low ability to claim warranty while also ensuring the customer believes it could have been a fluke.
Or, roughly translated into engineer speak…”anyone can build an aqueduct, it takes skill to build an aqueduct using the minimum amount of material required”.
I've never met an engineer who wanted to intentionally design products to break.
The beancounters on the other hand...
It depends on the way you think about it. When designing, I want all my parts (other than user replaceable wear components) to fail at the same time. That means nothing is the weakest link, failing earlier than the design otherwise could handle.
As I learned in engineering school...
"Any idiot can build a bridge which doesn't fall down. It takes an engineer to build a bridge which bearly doesn't fall down"
Anyone can design a 70 mile long aqueduct. It takes a skilled engineer to design a 70 mile long aqueduct using the minimal amount of materials necessary.
Something something anyone can build a strong bridge, only an engineer can build a bridge that just barely doesn't collapse
Maybe the real stone bridges where the collapse we had along the way
Saved this post waiting for a random Lemming to write a seven paragraph essay about Roman engineering.
