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C00002 00002	THE IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBILITY
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THE IMPORTANCE OF FLEXIBILITY


	Many well-intentioned plans for human betterment founder,
because people find them more rigid than the "less efficient"
alternatives they turn out to prefer.

Examples:

	#. Car pooling.  Think how much gasoline, congestion of
roads, and driving time could be saved if only people would car
pool more.  If most of the people who have tried car pooling since
the first gasoline crunch in 1973 had found
it satisfactory, most commuting today would be in car pools.
There are several reasons for quitting car pools.  First, some
people begrudge the time spent picking up car pool members and
the extra time spent waiting to be picked up.  Second, many people
have some flexibility of hours and don't want to give it up.  Remember
that one directions employment is going is in making hours more
flexible.  Third, people like to have the freedom to run errands
on the way to and from work.
Fourth, some people prefer the privacy of driving to work alone.
For many it is the only privacy they get.  Fifth, people sometimes
don't get along with their carpool mates.

	Any grand plan for transportation that doesn't provide
the same flexibility as the private care is likely to encounter
resistance.

	#. It is often supposed that people would be better of
living closer to their places of work.  In fact, while
intellectuals often jeer at the desire for a home in the suburbs,
people pay vast sums in money and commute time to optimize
where they live.