Re: Worse is better

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From: Jeff Bone (jbone@jump.net)
Date: Thu Mar 16 2000 - 10:13:29 PST


Eugene Leitl wrote:

> Ernest N. Prabhakar writes:
>
> > * The internal combustion engine won over steam buggies.
>

Again, there's little validity in comparisons across technical
generations. There're clear and significant differences between e.g.
internal combustion engines and steam buggies; much moreso than, say,
between Objective C and C++, which could be considered alternative
implementations of basically similar ideas within a single technological
"generation."

>
> It also won over electrical. Granted, they only had lead-acid in these
> days, but the fuel cell effect has been discovered several decades
> before.
>
> Would you really think that a Carnot process based ICU engine has on
> the long run a chance better chance than a snowball in hell, if
> pitched against electrochemical power, with its many interesting
> synergies?

I dunno Eugene --- things like the dominance and survivability of bad
ideas like location / device-based addressing in the phone system, the
NTSC signalling system, etc. make me rather pessimistic... :-/

jb


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