I am finding in my life that some of the newer generation materials and products are starting to simplify. They are reducing the amount of resources, complexity and production steps it takes to do a job. The technology behind them is maturing technology with decades of development that are gradually looking to save costs by making simpler products that do more than the older more complex version for less.
The new synthetic line that is being used in the standing rigging in sailboats is one example. One hundred years ago you still saw rope rigging with deadeys and lashings holding up the masts. With technology came lines made of steel and then stainless steel, that were smaller and lighter. It was much stronger and lasted for decades between replacing it as opposed to a life span of a few years to just months. It’s downside is that there were a lot of special fittings that needed special tools to maintain it and usually you needed a rigger to work on it. It wasn’t simple. Today we are back to fiber lines being used with deadeyes and lashings again. Only this time they are stronger by a factor of three or more than the stainless steel lines, eight times lighter. We have gone through the technological life cycle from better but more complex to much better and back to much more simple to use.
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