[XML-DEV Mailing List Archive Home] [By Thread] [By Date] [Recent Entries] [Reply To This Message] Re: Do you enjoy neighborhoods where every house looksthe same
On Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:29:02 -0400, Simon St.Laurent wrote: > Standardization lets (most of) us be stupid. > > You can decide whether that's good - "democratizing door > installation!" - or bad - "ugly doors all the same all over". *sigh* Or, given economies of scale (that certainly *are* relevant for the material examples then provided, though they may or may not be for markup), the statement might be: Standardization lets (most of) us afford things. The fact is, in these material things, it is perfectly *true* that the standardized stuff is aesthetically less pleasing. It is also true that it's cheaper. And cheaper means less people without doors. Or without roofs. Or without windows. Or without electricity. Because more people can afford standardized bits. It also means less expertise is required when (inevitably) something breaks. A masterpiece may only be reparable by an equal master, in some cases. And, also passed over: the experts are still out there. You just have to be a damned sight richer to afford custom hand-made stuff. I can go out and buy a cheap chair at the discount store today, and haul it home. It'll be ugly, and who knows how long it'll last. Or I can build one myself (which is what I really want to do; the problem isn't stupidity or laziness it's that it takes *time* that I can also use to earn money to, for example, buy tools and materials). Or I can go to a local expert who has the chair that I really, truly want, hand-made of wood selected and shaped and joined by masters, with upholstery hand-packed and sewn (though most of the fabrics aren't hand-woven, to my knowledge, and I'm pretty sure that the carpenters use some standard tools and standard mass-produced finishes and consumables such as sandpaper). It costs $2000, but I *can* do it; that option remains available. If my recently-preggers neighbor had to pony up $2K to have a seat to sit on, the world would be a much less aesthetic place, in my opinion. I think some of this conversation has gone a bit too far. Standardization for the stupid is, in my opinion, too far, much as I generally admire your work, Simon. Amy! -- Amelia A. Lewis amyzing {at} talsever.com Belief is the wound that knowledge heals, and death begins the Telling of our life. -- Teran Penan [Ursula K. Le Guin, "The Telling"]
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