For Lecture 4, I have learned one of the greatest engineering catastrophes in history: the sinking of the Titanic. The death of over 1,500 people has shocked the United States as to how the self-proclaimed unsinkable Titanic managed to crash and go under. One of the biggest theories as to why the ship sunk is that according to material samples collected from deep under the ocean, the builders of the Titanic has been exposed of using metal that becomes especially brittle in the cold. Another component that could've contributed the cruise breaking is its compartments were not completely sealed away from each other, causing the water that got into one compartment to spill into other compartments.

This really opened my eyes as to how the Titanic sunk, because I thought it was merely because of its sheer size that no other ships are built to the Titanic's length. It really made me think about what could be the black swans that would happen if I were to come up with a product or innovation so as to lessen the chance of risk and consequence. In my desired field, I hope to make solar panels and other forms of renewable energy to be more efficient and more appealing to international markets, so that means I must rule out every single scenario that could play out from even one faulty wiring or error.