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Good example of Chesterton's Fence: Lateral iron supports between the flying buttresses: it is not known when these external tie rods were installed. The techno
by jefftk 4y ago
Good example of Chesterton's Fence: Lateral iron supports between the flying buttresses: it is not known when these external tie rods were installed. The technology would have been available at the time of the initial construction, but the extra support might not have been considered necessary until after the collapse in 1284, or even later. In the 1960s, the tie rods were removed; the thinking was that they were ungraceful and unnecessary. However, the oscillations created by the wind became amplified, and the choir partially disassociated itself from the transept. Subsequently, the tie rods were reinstalled, but this time with rods made of steel. Since steel is less ductile than iron, the structure became more rigid, possibly causing additional fissures.
- hansvm 4y agoIn this case, a fence plus a bit of luck. It's unlikely they knew at installation that iron was more suitable than a more rigid steel due to second-order effects.
- giraffe_lady 4y agoyah but chesty's fence is about what it does not the reasoning behind it being made. if someone makes a fence to keep out ghosts and it keeps out wolves instead, the second part is what you need to figure out before you tear it down.
- tshaddox 4y ago> if someone makes a fence to keep out ghosts and it keeps out wolves instead, the second part is what you need to figure out before you tear it down. The problem is how long do you keep researching? What if your diligent research eventually discovers the wolf effect, but that whole time the fence was also a massive danger because it provided no means of fast egress in the event of a fire?
- giraffe_lady 4y agoThen you tear it down? It's about how you shouldn't assume something is pointless because you don't immediately see the purpose, not an edict for open-ended conservatism. I was pointing out that "the original intent" and "the current purpose" aren't necessary the same, but you're still stuck alone with your own judgement for the rest.
- tshaddox 4y agoMy point is that the proposal that the default should always be to leave things the way they are (which is the whole point of the Chesterton’s fence principle) is not a good general principle, because if you currently have very little understanding of the situation, “the way things currently are” could just as easily be extremely dangerous.
- giraffe_lady 4y agothen argue with chesteron about it lol not me
- Georgelemental 4y agoThe longevity of the original design alone argues for not messing with it, whether or not the original builders knew what they were doing.
- arvinjoar 4y agoYeah, it's a good example of lindy