Editor's Note

摘要

This month Henry Petroski, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE, shares with us a glimpse of the lighter side of engineering with his abecedari-um—in his words his alphabetized "collection of thoughts, quotations, anecdotes, facts, trivia, arcana, and miscellanea relating to the practice, history, culture, and tradition of the engineering profession. An excerpt from his latest book, An Engineers Alphabet: Gleanings from the Softer Side of a Profession, which will be published this month by Cambridge University Press, begins on page 70. In the preface to the book Petroski explains that by organizing it alphabeti- cally, he hopes to encourage serendipitous reading. The reader may select any letter of the alphabet, read a few entries, and perhaps then select another letter and read a few more entries. For example, one can read about asphalt cookies, egg-drop competitions, hairy-eared engineers, historic engineering landmarks, or topping- out ceremonies—engineering trivia at their best.