Editor's Note Taking It for Granted

摘要

It is understandable that most people take the infrastructure of the world around us for granted. It would be distracting to picture and appreciate the network of piping behind the walls of our homes every time we poured a glass of water. It would be difficult - and a little disconcerting - to imagine the rebar encased in concrete beneath our tires every time we drove across a bridge. And yet, it is the design, engineering, and standardization of things like plumbing and bridge decks that make daily life possible in the developed world.