Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Used Cars: Ray Bradbury is speaking out on the future of transportation. Bradbury, like Alfred Hitchcock, hates cars and doesn't drive them himself. Hitchcock reportedly found cars terrifying.

If you think about it, they're right. Is there really any sense in transporting ourselves around in metal canisters filled with explosive liquid that hurl along highways at breakneck speeds, at any moment, only as safe as the reflexes of the drivers around you allow? Isn't there a better way to do it?

Bradbury suggests we won't see one until the problems with our current system get so out of control that we're forced to. That makes sense, and is usually the case with capitalism.

But there is another way. There was no dire emergency that led to the popularity of post-it notes, no disastrous shortage of note paper that could stick to stuff that forced the hand of the market. Somebody came up with something nifty and people bought it.

Bradbury's position is that we'll keep cars until the situation gets so bad the other options seem good. Honestly, if somebody came up with a better solution today, that would probably solve the problem right there.

No comments: