CONNOISSEURS OF CHAOS

Thomas McKaig s 1962 book Building Failures is a widely known collection of case studies intended for the use of engineers, architects, and contractors. Although he clearly places the blame on human error, McKaig believes that those involved in building failures are thonselves the victims of accidents, and 

One recently published textbook on the failure of materials in mechanical design acknowledges in its preface that the concept of failure is central to the process of engineering design  

Recognition of the potential for failure and identification of the modes of mechanical failure that persist in the real engineering world are absolutely essential to prediction and prevention of mechanical failure, the cornerstone objectives of every mechanical designer. Thus the book identifies the modes of mechanical failure early in the presentation.. . .  

The book proper lists no fewer than twenty-three main modes of mechanical failure, with many subdivisions, and suggests that the list includes all commonly observed modes. Advertising 

Not everyone who attempts to explain structural failures claims to be able to make complete lists of causes. D. I. Blockley, whose otherwise ambitious book. The Nature of Structural Design and Safety, looks at the problem from several perspectives, including philosophical, historical, and analytical ones, makes no claims for completeness in his table of categories  

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