Help desks could be better staffed with better trained people. Hospitals could be made into places that are good for sick people, though I grant that might lead to less work in the long run. Buildings could be ornamented. I don't know why the Victorians could afford prettier buildings than we seem to be able to. Clothing and shoes could be custom fitted--I'm imagining this done with considerable assistance from computers and automation, but needing human thought too.
I'd like to see things done more efficiently, but people are always standing in the way. There are lots of ways to make hospitals more efficient, but the big pro medical group (the name escapes me at the moment) is pretty much against it. Many changes have been made in the veterans hospitals because the military can order it to happen. Civilian hospitals could follow, but choose not to. (My sister and brother-in-law work at a hospital and the stories are incredible.)
Buildings follow what's popular. Many of the buildings in Washington were designed at a time when Roman ruins were discovered and was fashionable to design buildings based on them. The buildings were "prettier" because that was the fashion of the day. I also don't think they have earthquakes in England. You can have a house made in any style you want, but public buildings tend to reflect what is popular.
You can get custom made shoes and clothes - how much are you willing to pay for them? Before clothes and shoes were massed produced, the only way to have clothes and shoes was to (1) make them yourself - and people did, (2) pay a tailor and shoemaker to make them for you, or (3) find something that fit in the clothes of someone who died. Most people couldn't afford to have lots of clothes and generally wore an outfit until it fell apart. You can still make you're own clothes, but what is your time worth?
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zvi and
The way things work
Date: 2005-05-26 03:13 pm (UTC)Buildings could be ornamented. I don't know why the Victorians could afford prettier buildings than we seem to be able to.
Clothing and shoes could be custom fitted--I'm imagining this done with considerable assistance from computers and automation, but needing human thought too.
I'd like to see things done more efficiently, but people are always standing in the way. There are lots of ways to make hospitals more efficient, but the big pro medical group (the name escapes me at the moment) is pretty much against it. Many changes have been made in the veterans hospitals because the military can order it to happen. Civilian hospitals could follow, but choose not to. (My sister and brother-in-law work at a hospital and the stories are incredible.)
Buildings follow what's popular. Many of the buildings in Washington were designed at a time when Roman ruins were discovered and was fashionable to design buildings based on them. The buildings were "prettier" because that was the fashion of the day. I also don't think they have earthquakes in England. You can have a house made in any style you want, but public buildings tend to reflect what is popular.
You can get custom made shoes and clothes - how much are you willing to pay for them? Before clothes and shoes were massed produced, the only way to have clothes and shoes was to (1) make them yourself - and people did, (2) pay a tailor and shoemaker to make them for you, or (3) find something that fit in the clothes of someone who died. Most people couldn't afford to have lots of clothes and generally wore an outfit until it fell apart. You can still make you're own clothes, but what is your time worth?