# Good, fast, cheap -- variations? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 22, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515 "2010-11-22T04:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/1 "2010-11-22T04:21:39Z")
I was reading a blurb about what guys want from women. One of the posters mentioned the adage “smart, attractive, sane – pick any two.” I googled it and came across the wikipedia article [Project Triangle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_triangle) which is used in engineering and management. A few variations are listed on the article but I’m wondering what others out there exist or that you’ve come up with. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/2 "2010-11-22T04:39:00Z")
We use this one all the time in market research: You can have your study be fast, cheap, or accurate: pick two of the three. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/3 "2010-11-22T05:34:54Z")
For race cars or fast street cars: fast, cheap, or reliable. Pick 2 out of 3. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/4 "2010-11-22T12:30:58Z")
The retail business: price, service, selection: pick 2 ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/5 "2010-11-26T20:56:11Z")
I came up with the computer OS triangle of options: Stable, customisable, user-friendly. The three possibilities separated rather nicely into Linux (stable/customisable), Windows (user-friendly/ customisable), and MacOS (Stable/user-friendly). ---
**Author:** ![ladysorrowfree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@ladysorrowfree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladysorrowfree)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/6 "2010-11-27T00:22:02Z")
From the defense contractor/aerospace world: Fast. Accurate. Inexpensive. Pick two. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/7 "2010-11-27T00:37:10Z")
Outdoor / Backcountry gear Strong, Light, cheap I find it useful when thinking about a purchase. ---
**Author:** ![pabstist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e99b99/32.png) [@pabstist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pabstist)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/8 "2010-11-27T02:02:03Z")
When living in/working on an old house- straight, level, or plumb. Usually, I get only one of the three. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/9 "2010-11-27T02:39:15Z")
We boiled it down to two. Do you want it now, or do you want it right? ---
**Author:** ![yola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/48db29/32.png) [@yola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yola)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/10 "2010-11-27T05:57:07Z")
Fast horses, fast guns, fast women. Take your pick. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/11 "2010-11-27T06:58:30Z")
Medicine: good, fast, thorough ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/12 "2010-11-27T07:55:05Z")
I used to tell my dad when he would nitpick: You can have it done YOUR WAY, or you can have it done BY ME. But you can’t have both. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![catastrophe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@catastrophe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catastrophe)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/13 "2010-11-27T22:37:49Z")
I had a friend in college who had a square variation: homework, sleep, social life, extracurriculars – pick three. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/14 "2010-11-28T01:09:07Z")
I used to have a button with a variant: On Time On Budget On Mars Pick Two ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/15 "2010-11-28T05:07:09Z")
From eating/cooking: cheap, convenient, or healthy. Any two. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/16 "2010-11-29T00:07:50Z")
An IT manager I know used to tell the executives that there were four variables they could manipulate on his software project: time, resources, scope, and quality… and that quality wasn’t negotiable. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-fast-cheap-variations/561515/17 "2010-11-29T00:19:43Z")
Strong, light, inexpensive. I first came across that in a very old web post (which would have been a blog if there had been blogs) by Keith Bontrager about mountain bike handlebars. The ramifications of choosing incorrectly (let’s say light and inexpensive), well, there doesn’t seem to be a toothless smiley.