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tl;dr I have thousands of lots of horse carriage wheels built to the highest standard that will last another 500 years. Any interest? Quite a few AM radios too.

tl;dr I have thousands of lots of horse carriage wheels built to the highest standard that will last another 500 years. Any interest? Quite a few AM radios too...

pdimitar 8y ago
I don't but I'd still like to learn a thing or two from their creators, they obviously knew how to get stuff done that lasts. ;)
- tchaffee 8y ago
  They didn't know that. Things that last also retain their usefulness. My entire point really. As an aside, let's hope you didn't use up extra resources that are not renewable in making something so durable but eventually useless. Would I favor regulations that prevent the opposite? Stuff that breaks before the end of its useful life just to create another purchase? I would consider it. Both ends of the spectrum create problems.
  - pdimitar 8y ago
    You give too much credit to the businessmen. They don't care about environment, they care about more sales and there do not exist any lengths they would not go to in order to achieve those. I'd say producing one durable piece of tech vs. 5-10 non-durable pieces of tech is still more sustainable for the environment, would you not agree?
    - tchaffee 8y ago
      I love strong regulations that try to reduce or eliminate negative externalities (like pollution and toxic waste), especially when the cost of the those externalities are collected at the point of purchase. They aren't very popular though. When we try things like a sugar tax to reduce the $$$ billions a year that diabetes costs us, people starting screaming about nanny state and their freedom. I'm not sure how we would require products be durable though? Who would be Czar of how durable things must be? Seems like that person would have a huge amount of power over which industries are profitable and by how much. I'm open to ideas though.
      - pdimitar 8y ago
        As an Eastern European I would definitely entertain the idea that totalitarianism is not entirely wrong. IMO the world needs politicians with stronger will who are less obsessed by next elections and are religiously persecuting criminals and opportunists... however the politicians are parts of these criminals so yeah, welcome to 21st century. In any case, regulations have proven time and again to mean absolutely nothing unless enforced very strictly and with a very heavy hand (flat percents of the offender's gross income, and I mean from 20% and up, not some petty 1-2%). But that won't happen -- lobbies, rings of companies, "anonymous" donations, things like that... the status quo is too deeply entrenched. But we can dream, right?

tl;dr I have thousands of lots of horse carriage wheels built to the highest standard that will last another 500 years. Any interest? Quite a few AM radios too...

pdimitar 8y ago

I don't but I'd still like to learn a thing or two from their creators, they obviously knew how to get stuff done that lasts. ;)

tchaffee 8y ago
They didn't know that. Things that last also retain their usefulness. My entire point really. As an aside, let's hope you didn't use up extra resources that are not renewable in making something so durable but eventually useless. Would I favor regulations that prevent the opposite? Stuff that breaks before the end of its useful life just to create another purchase? I would consider it. Both ends of the spectrum create problems.
- pdimitar 8y ago
  You give too much credit to the businessmen. They don't care about environment, they care about more sales and there do not exist any lengths they would not go to in order to achieve those. I'd say producing one durable piece of tech vs. 5-10 non-durable pieces of tech is still more sustainable for the environment, would you not agree?
  - tchaffee 8y ago
    I love strong regulations that try to reduce or eliminate negative externalities (like pollution and toxic waste), especially when the cost of the those externalities are collected at the point of purchase. They aren't very popular though. When we try things like a sugar tax to reduce the $$$ billions a year that diabetes costs us, people starting screaming about nanny state and their freedom. I'm not sure how we would require products be durable though? Who would be Czar of how durable things must be? Seems like that person would have a huge amount of power over which industries are profitable and by how much. I'm open to ideas though.
    - pdimitar 8y ago
      As an Eastern European I would definitely entertain the idea that totalitarianism is not entirely wrong. IMO the world needs politicians with stronger will who are less obsessed by next elections and are religiously persecuting criminals and opportunists... however the politicians are parts of these criminals so yeah, welcome to 21st century. In any case, regulations have proven time and again to mean absolutely nothing unless enforced very strictly and with a very heavy hand (flat percents of the offender's gross income, and I mean from 20% and up, not some petty 1-2%). But that won't happen -- lobbies, rings of companies, "anonymous" donations, things like that... the status quo is too deeply entrenched. But we can dream, right?