3 ms·

i see your point, minimum size rules for appartents in Ireland cause similar issues. But I draw the line at windows. They are a basic human necessity and a fir

i see your point, minimum size rules for appartents in Ireland cause similar issues. But I draw the line at windows. They are a basic human necessity and a fire hazard mitigation. I stayed in a hostel underground once in Liverpool, and it was aweful... I was not rich at college and shared crappy houses all the while, but I would not take this up under any circumstances.

roenxi 5y ago
Based on the stats, you're probably underweighting the damage of very high debt levels and overweighting the importance of windows. Although there are serious questions to ask about the ventilation of these rooms - as long as they've got satisfactory answers it looks like a good idea. The options can't be perfect or nothing. The options should be perfect, good and bad.
- Aeolun 5y ago
  > The options should be perfect, good and bad. Certainly. The problem comes when you present something that is bad as something that is good or perfect.
- notahacker 5y ago
  I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that windows and manageable debt levels can coexist. This design isn't because students can't afford buildings with windows, it's because a billionaire has a fantasy that it's the optimal design for such a building, thinks architects who disagree are "ignorant", and is making his donation contingent on it.
  - roenxi 5y ago
    An ignorant and devious billionaire plot to deprive us of our hard earned right to a window is the most entertaining thought I've had all week. You have to admit that there is at least a chance that this is a good idea and Mr Munger has good advice on the subject? It isn't like the students are confined to their cell, they just need to sleep there. A lot of them may not consider a window important, particularly in the face of saving some money.
    - notahacker 5y ago
      I think there's at least a chance the people opposing this also know what they're talking about (as indeed do the Building Regulations people in my country, where this design wouldn't be legal to let as accommodation). If Munger's had good advice on this it's not exactly coming across in his interview.
      - roenxi 5y ago
        If your country has banned designs with no windows you're talking to a badly skewed sample of people experts. Obviously nobody would be able to figure out if the idea work well, since it is banned. Months can go by without me raising the blind in my bedroom. While I certainly want a window there, I don't think it is essential.
        notahacker 5y ago
        You've gone from suggesting I'm possibly underestimating the quality of advice Munger receives to insisting that literally every construction professional in the UK (as well as all the critical experts in California) must know less than him about the habitability and safety of buildings because having banned certain designs, they can't possibly understand the reasoning behind their regulations. Wow, and I thought Elon Musk was Peak Contrarian Billionaire Worship.
        roenxi 5y ago
        > ...that literally every construction professional in the UK (as well as all the critical experts in California) must know less than him about the habitability and safety of buildings... Not every one. But it does seem likely that Munger has access to people with more experience building windowless bedrooms than anyone in the UK. I've heard from a source on the internet that it would be illegal to have such experience in the UK, so I doubt anyone does. It is a trivially obvious one. You won't have people with experience in a technique available if it has been banned. It is a safe guess that the US architects will be better at this than UK ones.

roenxi 5y ago

Based on the stats, you're probably underweighting the damage of very high debt levels and overweighting the importance of windows. Although there are serious questions to ask about the ventilation of these rooms - as long as they've got satisfactory answers it looks like a good idea. The options can't be perfect or nothing. The options should be perfect, good and bad.

Aeolun 5y ago
> The options should be perfect, good and bad. Certainly. The problem comes when you present something that is bad as something that is good or perfect.
notahacker 5y ago
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that windows and manageable debt levels can coexist. This design isn't because students can't afford buildings with windows, it's because a billionaire has a fantasy that it's the optimal design for such a building, thinks architects who disagree are "ignorant", and is making his donation contingent on it.
- roenxi 5y ago
  An ignorant and devious billionaire plot to deprive us of our hard earned right to a window is the most entertaining thought I've had all week. You have to admit that there is at least a chance that this is a good idea and Mr Munger has good advice on the subject? It isn't like the students are confined to their cell, they just need to sleep there. A lot of them may not consider a window important, particularly in the face of saving some money.
  - notahacker 5y ago
    I think there's at least a chance the people opposing this also know what they're talking about (as indeed do the Building Regulations people in my country, where this design wouldn't be legal to let as accommodation). If Munger's had good advice on this it's not exactly coming across in his interview.
    - roenxi 5y ago
      If your country has banned designs with no windows you're talking to a badly skewed sample of people experts. Obviously nobody would be able to figure out if the idea work well, since it is banned. Months can go by without me raising the blind in my bedroom. While I certainly want a window there, I don't think it is essential.
      - notahacker 5y ago
        You've gone from suggesting I'm possibly underestimating the quality of advice Munger receives to insisting that literally every construction professional in the UK (as well as all the critical experts in California) must know less than him about the habitability and safety of buildings because having banned certain designs, they can't possibly understand the reasoning behind their regulations. Wow, and I thought Elon Musk was Peak Contrarian Billionaire Worship.
        roenxi 5y ago
        > ...that literally every construction professional in the UK (as well as all the critical experts in California) must know less than him about the habitability and safety of buildings... Not every one. But it does seem likely that Munger has access to people with more experience building windowless bedrooms than anyone in the UK. I've heard from a source on the internet that it would be illegal to have such experience in the UK, so I doubt anyone does. It is a trivially obvious one. You won't have people with experience in a technique available if it has been banned. It is a safe guess that the US architects will be better at this than UK ones.