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The ideal system engineer is an engineer thoroughly versed in his field but conversant with and knowledgeable of other fields. You have to have the capability and desire to become a 'six-month expert'... You've got to want to become a generalist, too.

— Robert E. Machol Mathematicians are useful (1971)

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More quotes by Robert E. Machol

The conclusions of most good operations research studies are obvious.

Principles of Operations Research (1975)

Everyone knows what engineering is. All that's left is to define systems, and I'm not fool enough to do that.

Mathematicians are useful (1971)

If the assumptions are wrong, the conclusions aren't likely to be very good.

Principles of Operations Research (1975)

Sometimes, where a complex problem can be illuminated by many tools, one can be forgiven for applying the one he knows best.

Principles of Operations Research (1975)

Most accidents in well-designed systems involve two or more events of low probability occurring in the worst possible combination.

Principles of Operations Research (1975)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Robert E. Machol (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.