Engineering and the Einstein Test

摘要

My favourite quote from that famous engineer, Albert Einstein, states that everything should be simplified as far as possible, but no further. This is a good summary of the task of the engineer at all stages of their work from analysis and design, through to construction, monitoring and remediation. There are many great examples of simple and elegant design from ancient structures such as the Roman Pont du Garde to the modern Millau Viaduct, but the history of structures is also literally littered with structures where simplification of analysis and design has been taken too far.