6 ms·

Yes, I didn't mean to imply that there was a conscious decision -- everyone is limited by what is familiar, including designers and inventors. The point is that

by paul 19y ago

Yes, I didn't mean to imply that there was a conscious decision -- everyone is limited by what is familiar, including designers and inventors. The point is that retaining familiar elements doesn't doom us to stagnation. Incremental improvements are usually sufficient and more successful.

vlad 19y ago
I want to chime in because your two posts combined are still valued less than pg's rebuttal, but I think you are more right. Early cars were simply modified carriages with motors attached by hobbyists. Hobbyists--already busy enough building and improving their engines--wouldn't stop to learn how to carve wood. Two interesting ideas come to me about this. From what I've read, Henry Ford studied assembly lines at the Springfield Armory (which was first to create machines to make individual parts for guns, as well as first to allow non-skilled labor to assemble pieces together without involving a craftsman at all.) What's ironic is that two brothers who created and sold the first gasoline car (motorized carriage) were also in Springfield. Henry Ford made many innovations to the product and the pipeline. New competitors innovated on the design front to get more customers, while Henry didn't. Since Henry did not change his automobile, and people wanted to buy cars in the 1920's with a more modern look (as defined by not looking like the same car Ford had put out since 1908), other designs took hold. Successive design changes are made to stand out from the current crowd, that's all. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blDuryea.htm http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blDuryea.htm http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:yqqlYiJW0w4J:www.engr.sjsu.edu/pabacker/industrial.htm+springfield+armory+henry+ford&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:yqqlYiJW0w4J:www.engr.s...

by paul 19y ago

vlad 19y ago

I want to chime in because your two posts combined are still valued less than pg's rebuttal, but I think you are more right. Early cars were simply modified carriages with motors attached by hobbyists. Hobbyists--already busy enough building and improving their engines--wouldn't stop to learn how to carve wood. Two interesting ideas come to me about this. From what I've read, Henry Ford studied assembly lines at the Springfield Armory (which was first to create machines to make individual parts for guns, as well as first to allow non-skilled labor to assemble pieces together without involving a craftsman at all.) What's ironic is that two brothers who created and sold the first gasoline car (motorized carriage) were also in Springfield. Henry Ford made many innovations to the product and the pipeline. New competitors innovated on the design front to get more customers, while Henry didn't. Since Henry did not change his automobile, and people wanted to buy cars in the 1920's with a more modern look (as defined by not looking like the same car Ford had put out since 1908), other designs took hold. Successive design changes are made to stand out from the current crowd, that's all. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blDuryea.htm http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blDuryea.htm http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:yqqlYiJW0w4J:www.engr.sjsu.edu/pabacker/industrial.htm+springfield+armory+henry+ford&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:yqqlYiJW0w4J:www.engr.s...