I found this quote today. It’s from section 1.4 The Design of a Design Engineer in Alexander H. Slocum’s Precision Machine Design:

A portion of the now retired Space Shuttle's life support system. A portion of the now retired Space Shuttle's life support system.

“When the author first decided to pursue a career in design, he was immediately humbled when he really took a close look at things as complex as automobiles, CNC machines, spaceships, and tall buildings. Trying to comprehend how these complex things where designed and built gave him an appreciation for the capability of the human mind to break down even the most complex projects into workable tasks. He then realized that he was also a human and therefore he must also have this same ability.”