Re: The joy of Technology

On Mon, 4 Nov 2024 13:55:46 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 04/11/2024 01:36, rbowman wrote:

On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 21:12:25 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
 

On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 09:55:42 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
>

The history of transport is absolutely dominated by economics.

>
The history of everything technological is absolutely dominated by
economics.
>

In the UK we built canals, which were cheaper than horse and cart,
but then the railways came, and they were even cheaper, and finally
we had motor vehicles and they were cheaper still.

>
And yet the canals are still there. Somebody must be maintaining them.

 
Many have become historic sites.
 

In the UK they are now strictly recreational

I've sailed on parts of the Champlain canal. There is something ironic
about a massive lock operating to lift a 20' boat a few feet.