Why Nothing Works: The Anthropology of Daily Life (Touchstone Books (Paperback)) cover
Why Nothing Works: The Anthropology of Daily Life (Touchstone Books (Paperback))
by Marvin Harris
Description: Why Nothing Works: The Anthropology of Daily Life examines everyday social issues such as crime, consumer goods, and changing cultural behaviors through an anthropological perspective. It addresses how these factors shape daily experiences and society
ISBN: 9780671635770
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PaulHoule · 2024-12-16 · Original thread
As a crazy fast reader I liked it but now that I think about it, problems with product quality were a major preoccupation of the 1970s. There is a triangle between

  inflation <-> poor quality <-> shortages
in that these all stem from the same root and the proportion in which they manifest depend on the system (e.g. in Soviet Russia they could legislate prices but couldn't legislate availability of products) It was the decade of Ralph Nader. See

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nothing-Works-Anthropology-Origin...

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Crisis-W-Edwards-Deming/dp/052130...

https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Narcissism-American-Diminishi...

A few themes could be broken out, not least "mongo sucks" (I never worked at a company that didn't trust the database they used at all until I worked at one that used mongo) and a meditation on "buy" vs "build" that leans heavily towards build. (When I hear the word "integration" I reach for my keyboard and code up a 15-line python script while management is on hold waiting to hear what the "call us" price is)