Time pressure drives designers to copy old solutions to new problems
Evidence
When there is no time for the thinking required for original creation, the tendency is to repeat what has proven successful in the past. Many of Moses’ New York projects (not all; those in which he was particularly interested—and on which he spent substantial time—would be magnificent additions to the civic estate) began to reveal a conscious effort to duplicate aspects of his acclaimed Long Island parks. In this tendency lies the explanation for the otherwise inexplicable failure to make provision for baby carriages at so many New York parks: no provision for baby carriages had been necessary at the entrances to the Long Island parks because people got to them by automobiles. If there was a difference that should have been obvious to Moses—that the parks he was building now would be used by mothers who walked to them instead of drove—Moses was simply too busy to see it. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 2091
Categorization
- SEED: Baby carriages left out because parks were designed for drivers is a precise, citable case study of design transfer error.
- XREF: connects to: Banality of the city parks stemmed chiefly from lack of time — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 2088; People stretch old frameworks to fit new phenomena rather than abandon them; Even scientists fall back into purpose-driven thinking under time pressure — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 73 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- People stretch old frameworks to fit new phenomena rather than abandon them
#corroborates(0.85) - Even scientists fall back into purpose-driven thinking under time pressure
#exemplifies(0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 73 - Human thought fundamentally requires categorizing new experiences into old concepts.
#corroborates(0.75) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1151