…is never a good justification for doing anything.

Unfortunately, it is a common phenomenon in the world today. I saw quite a bit of it when I worked in Information Technology.

Programmers routinely add “functionality” that serves no earthly purpose to a perfectly serviceable system, Because We Can. In business, executives spend gazillions of dollars on projects that are barely implementable and offer dubious or non-existent gains in productivity, Because We Can. Our government tries to deliver unicorns, cellphones, and healthcare to everyone in the land through labyrinthine, bureaucratic monoliths, Because We Can. This is the kind of thinking that contributed to my mental collapse while at IBM.

But enough about my psychoses. Here is a lovely example of Because We Can from the world of architecture:

South Korea Will Soon Be Home To An Invisible Skyscraper

 

Anybody see a problem with this? Anyone? Bueller?

Let’s forget for a moment that this building will be erected near the Incheon Airport outside Seoul, and take a look at the reasoning behind it:

The architects claim that the Tower Infinity as it is called will, “provide the World’s first invisible tower, showcasing  innovative Korean technology.”

Uh huh.

In reality, it’s just a system of cameras and projectors. It’s been done. Just not on this scale, or in such a wildly inappropriate application. The architects go on to say that Tower Infinity will display Korean technology by, “establishing its most powerful presence through diminishing its presence.”

Yeah, it’s presence will be diminished all right, just as soon as the first airplane smacks into it!

Not to worry though—Given how overly-complicated technology works in practice, this building will probably look less invisible and more like Microsoft’s notorious Blue Screen of Death.

h/t Ace