The modern incandescent light bulb is a marvel of cheap yet effective technology. Much is often made of old light bulbs that burn forever. What nobody ever realizes is that these bulbs have thick filaments that take a large amount of power to create the same light that a very thin filament can do for less. The thinner the filament, the more light per watt. However, the easier it becomes for the filament to break, or burn out. The end design is a compromise--a bulb that is cheap and lasts a reasonable amount of time, and uses a reasonable amount of power.

If you spend ten times as much, you can get bulbs that use less power and last longer. Simple, really.

It's true for any other product. You can make it a lot more robust if you make it a lot more expensive. Most products offer a wide range of choices like this. Especially consumer items.

You can take great pride in creating a toaster that will last a hundred years, but most people will buy a servicable one that costs a quarter as much, and just buy another one in five years when it busts. It's not a matter of screwing the customer, it's a matter of trying to stay in the toaster business. Selling a crap toaster that falls apart in a week isn't going to keep you in business very long either. The manufacturing engineer walks this tightrope, knowing full well that there are Chinese toaster makers turning out a servicable product for next to nothing.

As for Mary Anne's library, public officials, like building committees, are often urged to go with the low bidder, since any other less quantifiable criteria can leave one open to charges of "favoritism." Sometimes, this shows.

If I were the contractor, I would make things right, even if I had to tighten my belt for a few years. Reputation is everything in a business like that.

Nothing impresses me as much as a repairman or contractor who fixes something that broke after a repair, and tells me it's on the house. I watch the people who work on my home, and I can tell quality work when I see it. I had some excellent roof work done by a place where, as far as I could tell, only the foreman spoke any English. I have two car repair outfits that are solid gold. Both work out of small shops--wouldn't touch a dealership with a ten foot pole unless I had to.