This story from my engineering youth is about learning the difference between accuracy and precision, minimum viable data, and why it’s important to not be a whiner when you’re on a team all working together on something not so fun. It’s painfully easy for engineers in particular to get attached to finding the “right” or “correct” answer and to lose sight of the fact there is often no single correct answer to the work we’re doing. This can make us get attached to wanting more or better data even when it won’t actually help us come up with a meaningfully better answer. There are so many sources of approximation, and datasets with wide confidence intervals that get input into models that we then calculate to 0.01. While it’s important to use repeatable and defensible methods in our work we must not fool ourselves into thinking our answers are more accurate or correct than they actually are. #accurate #precise #judgment #MVD #minimumviabledata #data #construction #design #AEC #aecindustry #engineering #project #publicworks #floodcontrol #floodplainmanagement #flood #storm #stormwater #APWA #ACEC #ASFPM #CASFM #ASLA #AEC #ASCE #EWRI #NASFMA #APA #milehighflooddistrict #milehighcity #colorado #greeninfrastructure #greenway #nature #naturebasedsolutions #natureinthecity #water #project #floodprotection #stream #streamrestoration #river #riverrestoration #infrastructure #infrastructureprojects #civilengineering #civilengineer #cowx
lol #dontbeawhinner Thanks for sharing the story and the 3 take aways.
Josh K.
1mo
I always loved getting a set of plans to build a road to 0.01 feet. How big is a piece of gravel/aggregate? Great story!
Water Resource Engineering | Riverscape Restoration
1moI’ve heard this referred to as “precision-ism” - the illusion or pretense of precision where it does not or can not actually exist. If you’re doing stream work, *nothing* is real to hundredths of a foot. FEMA or state-level regulators can choose to pretend otherwise, but the truth remains.