Resource constraints have historically been a bastion of quality engineering, though. The relationship is not directly causal, but any time an engineer must not

Resource constraints have historically been a bastion of quality engineering, though. The relationship is not directly causal, but any time an engineer must not only solve a problem but _fit it within some kind of a budget_ vs having an unlimited budget, it forces them to slow down and think more carefully about what they are producing and how well it actually functions. Ultimately it is an expression of anti-fragility: some minimal challenge must be met and conquered on many different axes of a production in order to help the full production itself mature to the best possible quality. It is the same reason we exercise, the same reason that cars and toilets and so many products greatly increase in quality after emissions and usage and waste-related regulations get applied from above, etc. The appreciation of the refining force of outside limitations is not about min-maxing, but it is at least partly about curbing the min-maxing of other concerns such as "ship the fastest garbage possible to move on to the next opportunity to repeat that process".