American Scientist

When a yet-to-be-opened pedestrian bridge in Miami, Florida, collapsed in mid-March of this year, I received a number of inquiries from the media for comment on the fatal accident. Producers and reporters wanted to know: What did I think about it? What had caused the collapse to occur? Who was responsible? Did the so-called accelerated bridge construction method that was employed have anything to do with the failure? The inquirers were on a fishing expedition, hoping to get a scoop.