Why-Nothing-Works

WhyNothingWorks[1]Accordingtoalaw1attributedtothesavantknownonlyasMurphy,ifanythingcangowrong,itwill.2CorollariestoMurphy'sLawsuggestthemselvesas3c1uestothe4shoddygoodsproblem:Ifanythingcanbreakdown,itwill;ifanythingcanfallapart,itwill:ifanythingcanstoprunning,itwill.WhileMurphy'sLawanneverbewhollydefeated,itseffectscanusuallybepostponed.Muchofhumanexistenceconsistsofeffortsaimedatmakingsurethatthingsdon'tgowrong,fallpart,breakdown,orstoprunninguntil5adecentintervalhaselapsedaftertheirmanufacture.ForestallingMurphy'sLawasappliedtoproductsdemandsintelligence,skill,and6commitment.Ifthesehumaninputsarcassistedbyspecialquality-controlinstrumentsmachines,andscientificsamplingprocedures7somuchthebetter.Butgadgetsandsamplingalonewillnever8dothetricksincetheseitemsarealsosubjecttoMurphy'sLaw.Quality-controlinstrumentneedmaintenance;gaugesgooutoforder;Xraysandlaserbeamsneedadjustments.Nomatterhowadvancedthetechnology,qualitydemandsintelligent,motivatedhumanthoughtandaction.[2]Some9reflectionaboutthematerialcultureorprehistoricandpre-industrialpeoplesmayhelptoshowwhatImean.Asinglevisittoamuseumwhichdisplaysartifactsusedbysimplepre-industrialsocietiesissufficient10todispelthenotionthatqualityisdependentontechnology.Artifactsmaybeofsimple,evenprimitivedesign,andyetbebuilttoservetheirintendedpurposeinareliablemannerduringalifetimeofuse.Weacknowledgethiswhenwe11honorthelabelhandmadeandpayextraforthejewe1ry,sweaters,andhandbagsturnedoutbythedwindlingbreedsofmodern-daycraftspeople.[3]Whatisthesourceofqualitythatonefinds,letussay,inaPornoIndianbasketsotightlywoventhatitwasusedtoholdboilingwaterandneverleakedadrop,orinanEskimoskinboatwithitsmatchlesscombinationoflightness,strength,and12seaworthiness?Wasitmerelythefactthattheseitemswerehandmade?Idon'tthinkso.Inunskilledor13uncaringhandsahandmadebasketorboatcanfallapartasquicklyasbasketsorboatsmadebymachines.Iratherchinkthatthereasonwehonorthelabelhandmadeisbecauseitevokesnotatechnologicalrelationshipbetweenproducerandproductbutasocialrelationshipbetweenproducerandconsumer.Throughoutprehistoryitwasthefacttheproducersandconsumerswereeitheroneandthesameindividualsorclosekinthatguaranteedthehighestdegreeofreliabilityanddurabilityinmanufactureditems.Menmadetheirownspears,bowsandarrows,andprojectilepoints;womenwovetheirownbasketsandcarryingnets,fashionedtheirownclothingfromanimalskins,bark9orfiber.Later,astechnologyadvancedandmaterialculturegrewmorecomplex,differentmembersofthebandorvillageadoptedcraftspecialtiessuchaspottery-makings,basket-weaving,orcanoe-building.Althoughmanyitemswereobtainedthroughbarterandtrade,theconnectionbetweenproducerandconsumerstillremainedintimate,permanent,andcaring.[4]Amanisnotlikely14tofashionaspearforhimselfwhosepointwillfalloffinmid-flight;norisawomanwhoweavesherownbasketlikelytomakeitoutofrottedstraw.Similarly,ifoneissewingaparkaforahusbandwhoisabouttogohuntingforthefamilywiththetemperatureatsixtybelow,allstitcheswillbeperfect.Andwhenthemenwhomakeboatsaretheunclesandfathersofthosewhosailthem,theywillbeasseaworthyasthestateoftheartpermits.[5]Incontrast,itisveryhardforpeopletocareaboutstrangersoraboutproductstobeusedbystrangers.Inoureraofindustrialmassproductionandmassmarketing,qualityisaconstantproblembecausetheintimate15sentimentalandpersonalbondswhichoncemadeusresponsibletoeachotherandtoourproductshavewitheredawayandbeenreplacedbymoneyrelationships.Notonlyaretheproducersandconsumersstrangersbutthewomenandmeninvolvedinvariousstagesofproductionanddistribution---management,theworkeronthefactoryfloor,theofficehelp,thesalespeople---arealsostrangerstoeachother.Inlargercompaniestheremaybehundredsofthousandsofpeopleallworkingonthesameproductwhocannevermeetface-to-faceorlearnoneanother'snames.Thelargerthecompanyandthemorecomplexitsdivisionoflabor,thegreaterthesumofuncaringrelationshipsandhencethegreatertheeffectofMurphy'sLaw.16Growthaddslayeronlayerofexecutives,foremen,engineers,productionworkers,andsalesspecialiststothepayroll.17Sinceeachnewemployeecontributesadiminishedsharetotheoverallproductionprocess,alienationfromthecompanyanditsproductarelikelytoincreasealongwiththeneglectorevenpurposefulsabotageofqualitystandards.