Post by Steven Dale
I was recently presented with the following argument against Urban Gondolas:
“If it’s such a good idea, why aren’t there any famous urban cable cars?”
Firstly, fame does not equal quality. There’s plenty of famous products, people and ideas that have been or are famous now but likely won’t see the light of day a decade from now. How many people remember Pet Rocks? Or Jimmy Walker? Microsoft, meanwhile, is about as famous as they come but their software is buggy, difficult to use and prone to crashes. The company’s hemorrhaging customers.
Fame is fleeting and no mark of quality or competence.
Secondly, we’re closer to the beginning of this whole endeavor than we are to the end. Concerns about fame don’t matter right now. What matters now is learning, sharing, educating and spreading. How fair would it have been 15 years ago to say Kobe Bryant wasn’t going to be a star basketball player just because he wasn’t famous?
Thirdly, just because you haven’t heard about something doesn’t mean it’s not famous. There are degrees and shades of fame. Ideas don’t always travel in the same circles. In some circles, the Medellin MetroCable is famous; the Roosevelt Island Tram made an appearance in one of the Spiderman movies (don’t ask me to remember which one); and then there’s the San Francisco cable cars . . .
Fame is subjective. And irrelevant.
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Want more? Purchase Cable Car Confidential: The Essential Guide to Cable Cars, Urban Gondolas & Cable Propelled Transit and start learning about the world's fastest growing transportation technologies.
