Common Sense 101 - Engineering - December 16, 2012 Edition

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Dedication
his book is dedicated to arguably the greatest engineer of all time—Imhotep, the man who invented the
first proper cut-stone Pyramid: the design on which all the Pyramids of Egypt—including the Great
Pyramid—were based. He never went to engineering school: there weren’t any engineering schools to go
to. He had to figure out from scratch everything. How to make the Pyramid so that it wouldn’t collapse. And
how to make it last, and how to make it look cool, and how to make sure the work was finished in time. And
how to make it popular in spite of the huge expense. And how to make burial chamber, and the maze of
tunnels leading to it, so that none of them would all collapse under the weight. And how to seal it with a
three-and-a-half-ton block of granite. And, and, and—too many “ands” to mention. All from scratch. No
wonder they called him a god.