First cars looked uncannily like horse carriages
The author points out that early automobiles closely resembled horse carriages, illustrating that design always builds on existing forms and knowledge rather than starting from nothing.
An observation the author uses to illustrate that we never design from a vacuum: "Think about it: the first cars looked uncannily like horse carriages, didn't they? We build upon existing forms, existing knowledge, whether we consciously acknowledge it or not."
In the framework
- Historical-Social · facet
In the book
- Chapter 1, section 003 · The Weight and Wisdom of the Past: On Whose Shoulders?
Examples