Originally published on LinkedIn (reformatted for zahradnik.io / Medium)
They once invented unbreakable glass.
In the 1970s, scientists in East Germany created a glass 15× stronger than normal — nearly impossible to break. They believed it would transform industries.
It never reached the market.
Why? Because true durability is bad for business.
If glass never breaks, cafés, bars, and restaurants stop buying replacements.
A perfect product destroys its own revenue stream.
The uncomfortable truth is this:
Our global economy depends on breakability.
Phones, furniture, tools, appliances — even software.
Most of what surrounds us is designed for:
- short lifespans,
- recurring replacements,
- predictable churn.
It’s not incompetence.
It’s an economic model.
Some of us think this can be different.
We don’t build to scale fast.
We build to last.
Durability is a philosophy — one that prioritizes integrity over churn, and long-term value over short-term sales.
