17. PERFECTIONISM – The Perfectionism of Joseph Whitworth
Joseph next set his mind to creating the most accurate rifle ever produced. The result was another masterpiece of unparalleled pre- cision engineering: the Whitworth Rifle. In test after test against the leading rifle of the day, the Enfield, the smaller Whitworth proved to be more powerful and much more accurate. And with that, Joseph had introduced to the world the first high-precision, long-range sniper rifle capable of hitting a target at 2000 yards (well over a mile), 600 yards further than the Enfield. Joseph demanded perfection and was intolerant of mediocrity. As one admirer of his day put it, “Whitworth seems to have set before himself from the beginning an ideal of perfection in mechanical con- struction beyond the wildest dreams of his early contemporaries.” Another engineer put it more simply, calling Joseph “the most original engineering genius that ever lived.” Today, some of the world’s very best engineers have earned the right to attach the letters “Wh.Sc” to their names. These are the Whitworth Scholars, those who became leaders of their industry through engineer- ing and were honored by the Whitworth Society for their achievements. Without Joseph’s perfectionism, our cutting-edge miracles of engineering — from the mobile phone in your pocket to the satel- lite in outer space — would not be possible.
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