50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics with Brian Potter (Hyperlegible 007)

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Apr 27, 2025

Brian Potter, author of the insightful blog and newsletter Construction Physics, shares his profound understanding of the complexities in building and infrastructure. He emphasizes that ‘things are always more complicated than they seem,’ discussing topics like prefab construction, jet engines, and the evolution of energy technologies. With humility, he addresses misconceptions in shipbuilding and skyscraper speed, revealing intriguing contrasts in historical efficiency. Potter’s passion for detail enriches our appreciation of construction’s challenging yet fascinating nature.

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INSIGHT

Complexity Behind Simple Explanations

Things are almost always more complex than they appear at first glance.
Simple explanations rarely capture the full picture behind how things work.

ADVICE

Efficient Deep Research Method

Narrow your topic so you can read everything relevant about it thoroughly.
Use skimming and outlining to efficiently turn research into a structured, insightful essay.

ANECDOTE

Engineering Research Born from Safety

As a structural engineer, Brian learned to deeply research unfamiliar building projects.
This was necessary to avoid fatal mistakes and keep his professional license.

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Nobody on the internet writes about all of the complexity involved in actually building things -- from homes to jet engines -- better than Brian Potter, the author of Construction Physics.

I am a huge fan of Brian's writing. I use it as a reference for a lot of my pieces. I once tweeted, "Construction Physics is a national treasure and the president should give Brian Potter a medal or czar job or something." So I was thrilled to get the excuse to talk to him about a bunch of his essays by talking to him about this one specific one, 50 Things I've Learned Writing Construction Physics.

Here's the one overarching theme he's discovered writing over 600,000 words in Construction Physics: "Things are always more complicated than they seem. Simple explanations very rarely exist."

We discuss that and other lessons by digging into pre-fabbed and manufactured homes, jet engines, gas turbines, windmills, nuclear reactors, batteries, Nobel Prizes, skyscrapers, and even Titanium.

Just reading that list, you can probably tell why I like Brian's writing so much. He writes in-depth about all of the topics I love, and I learn so much from him each time.

What impressed me most is just how humble Brian is. He knows 1000x more about this stuff than I do, but when he's not entirely certain of an answer, he says so. That's probably in part due to his background as a structural engineer, and in part a response to the lesson that everything is more complicated than it seems.

I hope you learn as much from our conversation as I did, and that you go back and read everything he's written.

To get you started, here are some of the essays we discuss and that Brian recommends, both his stuff and others'.

Potter Essays

- How to Build 3,000 Airplanes in Five Years

- Why It's So Hard to Build a Jet Engine

- What Learning by Doing Looks Like

- How California Turned Against Growth

- Another Day in Katerradise - The Birth of the Grid

Recommended and Discussed Essays

- Reality Has a Surprising Amount of Detail - John Salvatier

- Timing Technology: Lessons From The Media Lab - Gwern

- 100 Tallest Completed Buildings

- Boom: Bubbles and the End of Stagnation - Byrne Hobart & Tobias Huber

You can find this and all of the articles we discuss on Hyperlegible in one place thanks to our sponsor, Readwise - Visit readwise.io/hyperlegible for a free trial and get all Hyperlegible articles automatically added to your account.

Big thanks to Jim Portela for editing!