In reading George Sturt's The Wheelwright's Shop, I was struck by how often reference is made to the most effective way of doing something -- similar to the way nature hones species to fitness -- so old ways of working were done so as to make the most frugal use of everything, which would usually mean facing up to physical constraints or making something as light or easy for workmen (horses, etc.) as possible.
This resonated with various things that have been said to me over the years about minimal movement in fingering, about not wasting moves, about how the simple things often take the longest to get right, and so on.

yours,

Peter t.