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The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster and the over-reliance on PowerPoint (2019)

(mcdreeamiemusings.com)
210 points scapecast | 1 comments | 28 Aug 25 21:44 UTC | HN request time: 0.267s | source
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renewiltord ◴[29 Aug 25 00:49 UTC] No.45058722[source]▶
Another example of "guy can't spell" => "he's retarded". If you can't get everything right, you probably got lots of things wrong.

It also shows why software engineers are superior engineers. The history of software engineering has some single-digit kills, at most 20 in total. Meanwhile, shuttle engineers are supposed to be the best in the aerospace business and they've lost some 13 or so? All aerospace would be put in the thousands.

An old saying is "Any fool can build a bridge. It takes an engineer to build a bridge that barely stands". But these are fools who built bridges that didn't stand.

One day, I will teach them real engineering: It is Rails backend with React frontend. Zero kills. Life above all.

BTW: Here's is the original content with Tufte review https://www.edwardtufte.com/wp-content/uploads/bboard/images...

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firesteelrain ◴[29 Aug 25 01:16 UTC] No.45058912[source]▶
One could argue otherwise such as the Boeing 787 MAX MCAS Software Design.
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1. renewiltord ◴[29 Aug 25 01:33 UTC] No.45059021[source]▶
That's a good counterexample. We can count that in software engineering. Can't say I expected Boeing software engineers to be any good. Dregs of the field but they still count as in the field. Aerospace software engineering quality substantially lacking, it's true.