The original question is a good one, and should be extended to cover a lot of practices which are still in place because of the evolution of habit, economic "sweet sport", and a certain resistance to change. There are probably many industries that would be more effective if new solutions were used -- recycled plastics, synthetic wood products, carbon-fiber reinforced thingummies. Partly the reason things of this kind do not change rapidly is because of the combination of "doing what was always done", the cost of entry into new ways, an aversion to risk in incrporating unproven methods, and a sort of craven hunger for agreement. It is surprising, in retrospect, to realize how much change has occurred in some areas -- the migration from carbon paper and typewriters and erasers to dual-monitor woprkstations, laser printers and PDF files, for example, or the advent of electronic mail, or cell phones. Other areas, such as building and road construction, move forward much more slowly.



A