The car was an extreme case, and I don't expect anyone not an expert
to design the shocks. However, there are a lot of custom alterations
that are available, and over time standardized components even from
other companies will be available. You don't have to be an engineer
to design the look of a car (within reason). For ordinary people
like me I'm only talking about designs that are similar to what you
can do now without the software, and with a lot more trouble (like
going to body-shop row in the town where you live and talking to
4 or 5 of the owners).
As to the tool that I made, it's already possible to get stuff like
that done right now, if you work for various companies (I've seen
people that work at Schlage designing locks on some system and seen
them get back the results). But having the soup-to-nuts setup in
your house will mean that anyone can do it.
As to designing houses, part of the problem there is the marketing.
Who can spend the money to make software that will conform to local
codes when people like us want to buy it for $200 or less, and most
people won't buy it because it doesn't work anyway. There is no
theoretical reason that this can't work, just a lot of practical ones.
It was certainly a lot hard to figure out how to build the first
jetliner than it would be to write a reasonable architect program.
And if such things were available we might get more uniform building
codes (like the uniform electrical code that most places I've lived
now use).
This isn't going to happen right away, and when it starts it will be
for things that are more easily codified, but it will happen. My point
wasn't that you'd be able to design a fusion-powered car in your
spare time, but that the article that was linked to stopped way short.
It's like hearing about a press with moveable type and thinking that
this means that there will be a decline in the market for brushes to
do illuminated manuscripts. This change that we are going through
will be a lot more fundamental than having car companies doing
just in time inventory management... |
