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Comment by i998sd9as89 | Hacker News Reader

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i998sd9as89·

It is amazing how many things that were a solved problem at least 40 years ago continue to be reinvented badly.

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They are now expected to work with less energy and water.

https://www.energystar.gov/products/appliances/clothes_washe...

This. I shared this link above, but I wrote a post on it. It's really sad what's happened to the appliance industry. http://recraigslist.com/2015/10/they-used-to-last-50-years/

Know-how has to be maintained. Knowledge has to be passed down to the apprentices and juniors. Otherwise it is lost over time and has to be rediscovered/reinvented, often by failures like in the article. Technological progress is never guaranteed or a certainty. Progress is the result of incremental improvements and sustainable hard work.

I suppose the classic example is concrete.

That said, is that really the problem here, or a culture of trying to rush products to the market?

Another example is mechanical parts and linkages. In the early 20th century there were many incredibly intricate mechanical devices -- the Curta calculator is an example[1] -- that have been replaced by semiconductors. I wonder if those could even be made today without having to recreate the knowledge and manufacturing processes.

[1] https://calculating.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/curta-calcul...

A coworker had one of those and brought it in one day, an absolute marvel to behold.

I mean I think even techniques from animation pre-computer may be hard to do today.

it's an insult to add 'invent' when all it does is re-skin with touchscreens.

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