this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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This pen / pencil thing has been corrected so many times for so many decades that it's ludicrous people are still bringing it up.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen/
Random bits of pencil lead floating around in a high tech environment is such a poor idea that even the Soviet's quit using pencils once Fisher's Space Pen was available. A pen which Fisher itself paid to develop and then sold to both NASA and the Soviet Space Program.
Yeah, I know it's not precisely correct, but it's a fable that's commonly understood as an example of over-engineering. I'm open to better and more factual examples, if you have any!