[yodelshady]

Good article, I've seen this covered from the materials science and system engineering perspective before but not the mechanical perspective.

Ask any first year materials science graduate how Challenger failed and they'll confidently tell you about glass transition temperatures in fluoropolymers, but if any chartered engineer gave you that answer, fire them. People in the room at the time knew about that, but somehow a clear warning became a point of uncertainty became a minor interest became a footnote.

What I find more interesting is, ask any first year economist about 2008 and they'll tell you about Gaussian risk cupolas. Somehow in that field sticking with the level one explanation as if the PhDs in the room there didn't know is accepted.