If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – Part 1

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Brilliant, as the Brits say.

This saying was the actual inspiration for the expression “bumper sticker logic”.  It was something I was hearing at work (see below).  During that time I actually saw it on a bumper sticker, and then, lo and behold, I heard a politician use it.  It never means much, and when politicians use it, you can be sure it means nothing.

On the obnoxious scale it’s right up there with “Git ‘er done”! There are better examples, but I think this is a pretty good simple place to start.

Here’s the story:

When I was a young engineer working on locomotive turbocharger design, and other locomotive engine stuff, I spent a lot of time in the engine lab (which I called, “The Great Hall of Engines”, ha, ha).  That was a good job – spending time in the office doing design and analysis, then time in the lab and in the field, testing what we’d done. I loved it. I also enjoyed working with the mechanics and electrical technicians in the lab. They enjoyed us engineers also.  They especially loved us when we were wrong.

Some of the guys had a favorite expression.  Yup, you guessed it.
Here’s sort of how our conversations would go:
Mechanic, concerning something I was trying to improve (like fuel economy): “If it ain’t broke, Dave, don’t fix it.”

Dave: “What? That’s stupid. It’s got nothing to do with this.”

Mechanic (chuckling): “We’ll see”, or, “you wish”.

Dave: “We’re not “fixing” it. We’re making it better. If we don’t keep improving the engine’s performance, we’ll stop selling locomotives. Look what happened to ALCO.”

Mechanic: “I’m just yankin’ your chain. But think about it. People are always fixin’ stuff that doesn’t need fixin’.”

Dave: “No they’re not. Not only do people almost never fix things that don’t need fixin’, they almost never fix things that do need fixin’.  It’s a dumb expression.”

And so on and so on….
Now I have to admit I’ve used the saying, and probably will again. Though, I usually think I’m being funny when I say it.

As you will hear me say many times, there are really no sayings, sound bites, or philosophies that are always correct or useful for every situation. I can only think of one that I think (or hope) is always true, and even it will surely be misused. This one, like all the best most obnoxious examples we’ll discuss, is subtle .
Let’s think about it:

On it’s surface, the saying is straightforward.  Don’t fix things that don’t need to be fixed. Obvious, and nothing wrong with that, right?

So why put it on a bumper sticker?  The implication is that the world is full of people running around, stirring things up, making unnecessary trouble.  And how do they make all that trouble? By failing to see that the world is just fine as it is, and “don’t need fixin'”.  Right? That sums it up, nothin’ more needs to be said.

And that’s really the point isn’t it? Even though the expression is stupid, obvious, and probably has little or nothing to do with any particular situation, it is supposed to be the final word. Those busy bodies running around, not leaving well enough alone, are put in their place by those non-insightful words.

And then I told him, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. And that was that.”

Many of us humans fear and dread change.

What does it mean when a politician uses it?  Almost always nothing. As with so many other sound bites from politicians, it is usually meant to stop the conversation. I don’t remember what the issue was when I heard a politician use it, but I remember noting that it had virtually no relevance to the issue at all.  But most reporters rarely analyze the logic.  They just play the quotes, and depressingly it works.

Well hmm, we all say, I guess if it ain’t broke, we shouldn’t fix it.  Can’t argue with that. No sense in looking into the issue in more detail, and considering the options. If that guy says it ain’t broke, then we certainly shouldn’t fix it.