Wicked Problems: How to Engineer a Better World

An ode to systems engineerswhose invisible work undergirds our lifeand an exploration of the wicked problems they tackle.Our world is filled with pernicious problems. How, for example, did novice pilots learn to fly without taking to the air and risking their lives? How should cities process mountains of waste without polluting the environment? Challenges that tangle personal, public, and planetary aspectsoften occurring in health care, infrastructure, business, and policyare known as wicked problems, and they are not going away anytime soon.In linked chapters focusing on key facets of systems engineeringefficiency, vagueness, vulnerability, safety, maintenance, and resilienceengineer Guru Madhavan illuminates how wicked problems have emerged throughout history and how best to address them in the future. He examines best-known tragedies and lesser-known tales, from the efficient design of battleships to a volcano eruption that curtailed global commerce, and how maintenance of our sanitation systems constitutes tikkun olam, or repair of our world. Braided throughout is the uplifting tale of Edwin Link, an unsung hero who revolutionized aviation with his flight trainer. In Links story, Madhavan uncovers a model mindset to engage with wickedness.An homage to societys innovators and maintainers, Wicked Problems offers a refreshing vision for readers of all backgrounds to build a better future and demonstrates how engineering is a cultural choiceone that requires us to restlessly find ways to transform society, but perhaps more critically, to care for the creations that already exist.