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| “A
thing is mighty big when time and distance cannot shrink it.” Writer Zora Neale Hurston, 1938 |  Cellular towers Photograph by David Arcos Chicken&Egg Public Projects | The
New York Public Library, Science, Industry and Business Library has books and
videos that wow you with long bridges, heavy dams, and tall buildings. Many popular
writers and film producers who present infrastructure believe bigger is better. Cell phone towers are big, but they are small parts of far-flung communication networks. These towers are monuments to the desire of Americans to be able to telephone anywhere, anytime. They are a tribute to the ability of civil engineers to satisfy this desire. Although the interconnecting systems that make up infrastructure are enormous, size and significance are not the same. A small detail can be as important as an entire system. You discover this each time you forget to charge your phone. The relationship between detail and whole is an essential aspect of civil engineering design. The practice of engineering itself consists of individuals who together form a vast human infrastructure. |
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