Original artwork, not a still
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Public relations can persuade managers, committees and the press, but not a cold O-ring. The line is quoted wherever a gap opens between what an organisation says about safety and what its engineers know, from software outages to product launches. It works as a one-sentence case against wishful thinking in any technical business.
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In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
The sentence ends Feynman's personal observations on the reliability of the Space Shuttle, which appeared as Appendix F of the 1986 Rogers Commission report on the Challenger disaster. He had threatened to take his name off the report unless his remarks were included. Working engineers estimated the chance of losing a shuttle at roughly 1 in 100, while management put it near 1 in 100,000. He concluded that NASA management exaggerated the reliability of its product to the point of fantasy.
Sources (1)
- Wikipedia: Rogers Commission Reportsection on Feynman's minority report / Appendix FReference checked
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