To Err is Human, Just not Desired

For my Industrial Engineering System Design, which is mercifully coming to a close, I had to buy two books. The first and most expensive I already reviewed. The second much less expensive book was Set Phasers on Stun: & Other True Tales of Design, Technology, & Human Error by Steven M. Casey. Yeah it’s a long name. This book is a collection of 20 stories told by Casey. He uses them to demonstrate disastrous interactions between humans and design choices. Each story offers a different example of how easily a seeming innocuous design choice can cause reactions and outcomes that are completely unintended. The book is well written and Casey makes the stories entertaining without being too long. It’s a good reads for any engineer, and most people that would like to understand why testing and iteration of designs are so important. Throwing technology at a problem doesn’t work unless the technology is used judiciously with the user in mind. It makes a good case for why Industrial Engineering is important.