False Economy by Allan Beattie makes a lot of interesting points. For example, countries that import food are often just importing water — it’s more practical to import food than to use scarce water to grow it, even if the land is available. And pandas are pointless, while cats have identified a market niche for their services and exploited it to the fullest.
In the penultimate chapter, Beattie writes about being on a path and sticking with it no matter what. I guess we all know that the QWERTY keyboard was designed to make us type more slowly, since typewriters got jammed if people typed fast. I didn’t know that it was also designed to make the work “typewriter” easy to type for salesmen who couldn’t actually type but used to type that word out to demonstrate the machine.
After the mechanical reasons for the inefficient keyboard became obsolete, it still made sense for everyone to use the same keyboard as long as typists were trained. That is, there was a benefit to being able to train a typist and know that he or she would be able to use all the machines.
Now that we all have our own keyboards which cannot jam, and typists hardly even exist, there’s absolutely no reason for us to use an intentionally inefficient keyboard, but we still do. For no reason.
How often do we continue in a path just because we’re on that path, whether there’s still a good reason for it or not?
Beattie shows how nations and economies set themselves on a path and just stay on it, regardless of the consequences. Maybe we do that as individuals sometimes, too.
I agree with him. We’ve talked about this recently, in regards to my current trajectory. I’m career oriented and anticipate having a light dating life as a result. I feel I won’t be stable enough for a terribly permanent relationship unless the other part of that relationship is really willing to deal with me.
Conversely, there are those whose intent is to have a family. They may or may not intend to work out of the house at the same time, but their plan is to find a good spouse and get started making a family.
That’s not to say that either path is incapable of changing midstream, but it is just that: midstream. Someone with a two year old child is just as uninclined to start a new 18 rung career ladder as someone with a two year old career might be to begin an 18 year parenting job.
If you want to get from one path to the other you sort of have to bash your way through uncharted territory and choosing to do that compared to just moseying along? Who wouldn’t take a good mosey?
You’d probably like “Freakonomics” by Dubner and Levitt.
@dingus6 –
I like Freakonomics very much. Have you read the sequel?
I was going to say this sounds very much along the lines of Freakanomics. I find this kind of information/analysis very interesting – I’m going to look for the Beattie book, so thanks for the recommendation.
The “typewriter” thing is hilarious – would have never noticed that!
There is a keyboard available that is optimized for speed called the Dvorak keyboard.
To switch to it, check for instructions to change your keyboard here: http://www.hooleon.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=KB-425-0110&Category_Code=A-KBD&Store_Code=KBH
If this is confusing for you to type on, you can get stickers to put on the keys so you can remember what the keys are here: http://www.amazon.com/SIMPLIFIED-KEYBOARD-LETTERING-TRANSPARENT-BACKGROUND/dp/B0011FI3O8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258851685&sr=1-2
If you already “touch type” on a Qwerty keyboard, you’ll have to completely relearn to type.
Good luck with all this!
@lostarts –
@lostarts –
That’s very interesting — you don’t have to get a new keyboard. I don’t touchtype, actually, so I have to look at my keyboard quite a bit. Anyone out there actually made the change?
@fibermom –
Not yet, but it’s on my list.