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Fat last mile = design for repairability Fat first mile = design for replaceability Fat middle mile = design for corruptability
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"lean" is just shorthand for "keep the fat as upstream as you can" which is a materiality restatement of things like the procrastination principle or principle of least commitment. Upstream fat = more macro leverage.
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Common misperception because corruption is most *visible* in the last mile, same as trash on street or homelessness. But both first and last mile fat lead to less corruption because the very visibility leads to negative feedback control loops.
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Replying to @vgr
Actually last mile the most corrupt stretch .
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A bunch of minor grifting like repair people padding estimates or cutting corners leads quickly to reputation markets and other corrective responses. But a vast middle-man market full of invisible corruption is usually hard to govern.
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Similarly, "first mile" corruption tends to be hard to hide for too long. Eventually people realize when big capitalists are doing crony shennanigans with their politician buddies.
Replying to
First mile fat is useful when there are very large downstream structural problems that need reserves to fix, such as a localized natural disaster that's beyond local ability to handle. But a diffuse endemic problem is better handled with last mile fat and local autonomy.
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In general, where you put the fat is a function of a) where you expect the uncertainty and risk b) where you personally have a stake. A society where the risk profile and stake profile are mismatched will misallocate fat and fail.
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Replying to
Quality products are made and ready for distribution and takes off but it doesn’t percolate smoothly there are disparities and irregularities as it makes it way with bottlenecks, spillages and damages happening only in the last mile for some reason. 😀