“Don’t paint yourself into a corner” or “avoid building a boat in your basement; such aphorisms caution us to think through what we do before we act. There may be unintended consequences that won’t show up until later….sometimes centuries later.
To wit, this short article by Dr. Joerg Storm traces how a decision made by a Roman engineer two millennia ago had profound consequences on the design of one of our greatest achievements: the Space Shuttle.
This very short post shares the story of how long ago the size of a horse’s behind dictated the design of the space shuttle .
It’s not fair to blame the Romans for failing to anticipate space travel, but with a much longer expanse of history to learn from, we have no excuse for not learning from their story…and the unintended consequences of what seem like small choices.
