HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

There is a YouTube channel called Technology Connections which has a video about American car headlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2J91UG6Fn8 which I think illustrated a good example of the difference between mandating a solution, and mandating requirements.

Considering car headlights. Obviously there are some requirements we should make - they need to be bright enough to safely light-up the road. They should not blind oncoming drivers. They need to be reasonably safe in the event of a collision.

Between the sixties and 1984, the government of the USA mandated a solution. Basically one model of headlights was permitted (with a few minor variations introduced over time). If you look at all car models from this time they have a similar appearance, and the same headlights are still in use in some commercial vehicles today.

In most European nations (and other parts of the world) instead a requirement, or series of requirements were made. If you met these standards for lighting level, glare, etc. your headlight was permitted.

This led to European and Japanese cars have very varied headlight models, while most American cars were forced to stick to the same old style. This meant that American drivers missed out on innovations in this space.

Mandates can very easily become out-dates. Whereas well written requirements are much more timeless.

⬐ rapjr9

I see two sides to standardized components. One is their efficiency and lower cost. The other is they lock in technology. The Soviet Union used standardized components which made many things easy to repair. The same electric motors were used in a wide variety of machines. But it made it very difficult to innovate because it was harder and more costly to use anything but the standardized components. If you needed a new size of electric motor you had to convince a standards committee that it would be useful in a wide variety of applications. Similar to how some countries today are benefiting from starting with a mobile internet rather than a wired one, a standardized and widely adopted technology base can be a barrier. Maybe some day we'll figure out the absolute best way to make everything and we won't care so much about making new technologies. We aren't there yet though.

⬐ pasabagi

There's definitely a balance here. Every piece of DDR technology I have ever interacted with has flat head screws. From the point of view of interoperability and repairability, that's amazing. From the point of view of struggling with a stuck screw, it's horrible.

The capitalist approach, of discarding screws altogether in favour of glue, is even worse.

I think you could probably reach a happy medium by requiring companies to pay for the disposal of their products. That would push them to make their designs easier to repair and more long-lasting, without putting direct burdens on innovation.

A lot of the problems with capitalist design is that externalities, generally waste in various forms, are suffered by society at large. If this was 'priced in' (imagine if CO2 emissions were priced in to products!) you would have a lot of incentive for more pro-social design.

⬐ LocalH

Capitalist dogma is that such things are not within fiduciary duty. The board's sole obligation is to the profit of the company.

I have no idea how to go about changing this, when bills are basically bought and paid for.

⬐ chernofool

Interoperable car parts are a terrific idea.

I like reliable old cars for this reason. Sometimes things need to be replaced, but those things are usually cheap and easy to work with. Need a new headlight? $25 at the local parts store, $50 for the LED version. You can install it with a screwdriver.

The curved, round lights on new cars look nice, but why couldn't they ask a supplier like Sylvania to settle on a few consistent options? With a new Honda Civic, you'll need to order a bespoke headlight assembly for about...$340?

https://www.go-parts.com/2222-honda-civic-headlight-assembly...

Also interesting piece about why US was stuck in decades of same light design because of more stupid regulations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2J91UG6Fn8

⬐ cromka

I knew this was gonna be the video, and I didn't even watch it yet, haha!