Other People Think?: Furt... | What Do You Care What

While the rest of the commission focused on high-level briefings and polished presentations, Richard went to the engineers. He went to the garages. He wanted to touch the hardware. He became obsessed with the O-rings—the giant rubber seals that were supposed to keep scorching gases trapped inside the rocket boosters.

While a NASA official testified about "allowable margins of risk," Richard didn't argue. He didn't give a speech. He simply squeezed the rubber in the clamp and dropped it into his glass of ice water. What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Furt...

The official line was that the cold weather on the morning of the launch shouldn't have mattered. The "experts" had charts and data suggesting the rubber was resilient enough. But Richard didn't care about their charts. He cared about the nature of the material itself. While the rest of the commission focused on

During a televised hearing, the room was stiff with tension and prepared statements. Richard sat quietly with a glass of ice water and a small C-clamp he’d bought at a hardware store. He had a piece of the O-ring material—a small, unassuming red loop. He became obsessed with the O-rings—the giant rubber

As he left the hearing, the reporters swarmed, but Richard was already thinking about the next problem. He knew that the hardest part of science wasn't the math; it was having the courage to see what was right in front of your eyes, regardless of what the rest of the world told you to see.