zlacker

Reminds me of these desiderata from an essay by Wendell Berry:

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To make myself as plain as I can, I should give my standards for technological innovation in my own work. They are as follows:

1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces. 2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces. 3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces. 4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces. 5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body. 6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools. 7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible. 8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair. 9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.

>>begrif+(OP)
Just wondering, is there any example of technological innovation that meets these criteria?

>>jl6+P5
Probably not, since some of the points require changes to business models, not just technology.

>>jl6+P5
All other things being equal, if you improve in just one of these dimensions, you are doing it right.

>>ihavea+Wp
Only so long as other dimensions don't degrade. In practice, that's usually what happens.

>>begrif+(OP)
Repairability is a pointless standard for hardware device innovation. If we had to design modern devices to be easily repairable then they would be so bulky, heavy, and expensive as to be pointless. Plus designing for repairability with more modular components would actually make devices less reliable, and more likely to need to be repaired in the first place.

A better goal is to design for easy deconstruction and recycling so that broken equipment doesn't end up in landfills.