A common misconception about how things such as space shuttles

Hear the words of Henry Petroski, philosopher of engineering and chronicler of invention: “A common misconception about how things such as space shuttles come to be is that engineers simply apply the theories and equations of science. But this cannot be done until the new thing-to-be is conceived in the engineer's mind's eye. Rather than following from science, engineered things lead it.” At first, it seems like a simple correction, a technical point. Yet in truth, it is a profound revelation about the creative spark at the heart of human progress. For Petroski teaches us that equations alone do not give birth to greatness—it is imagination that conceives what has never been, and only then do the laws of science shape it into being.

The origin of these words lies in Petroski’s lifelong reflection on bridges, machines, and all the tools that shape our world. He saw how people thought of engineers as mere calculators, applying formulas to problems like clerks tallying numbers. But he knew better. Before the first equation is written, the mind’s eye must envision what is possible: a ship that can fly, a tower that can pierce the clouds, a shuttle that can soar to the stars. Without this vision, science has no question to answer, no form to refine.

History proves this truth. When the Wright brothers dreamed of human flight, there was no perfect formula to guide them. They built, they tested, they failed, and they tried again. Their vision was not born from equations but from watching the wings of birds and daring to believe man might share in that freedom. Only after the machine was conceived did science follow, analyzing lift, drag, and thrust. Engineering led, science followed.

So too with the space shuttle itself. Before the mathematics of re-entry or the equations of orbital mechanics could be applied, someone had to imagine: What if a vessel could rise like a rocket, but return like a plane? What if men and women could ride a reusable craft beyond Earth’s cradle? That vision was not the product of theory, but the work of daring imagination. Then, and only then, did armies of scientists and engineers bend their knowledge to make the impossible possible.

This reveals a profound truth about the human spirit: it is not bound by the known. Science tells us what is; imagination dares to ask what could be. The engineer’s mind’s eye gazes beyond the horizon, and in that act of vision, it calls science to new tasks. Without Columbus’s dream of lands beyond the ocean, there would be no maps to measure them. Without the vision of Edison’s light, there would be no filament to perfect. It is the dreamer who opens the path, and the scientist who makes the path walkable.

The lesson for us is clear: do not wait for formulas before you dare to dream. Do not imagine that knowledge alone creates progress. First comes the vision—the picture in the mind’s eye, the daring thought, the “what if?” whispered in silence. Then comes the labor of grounding it, testing it, refining it. If you would change the world, begin not with equations, but with imagination. Dare to conceive the new thing-to-be.

Therefore, O seekers of creation, remember Petroski’s wisdom: engineered things lead science. The great inventions of humanity are not born from theory alone, but from the daring of visionaries who saw what was not yet and resolved to make it real. Do not bind yourself to what already exists. Close your eyes, envision the unmade, and let that vision guide your work. For it is not formulas that lift us to the stars, but the courage to imagine a ship that could rise beyond them.