There once was a man who worked nights and slept days. When he decided to build a new home he felt there was no need for his home to have windows. Besides, he thought, "Those homes that have windows are much too expensive".
So, he built his new home without windows and lived in it for several years. Windows for his home never occured to him because he had grown accustomed to living in the dark. Quite suddenly, his job changed so that he was working days and was at home in the evenings. One day, on his way home from work he passed a store that was having a special on windows. Not knowing much about windows, he looked over the selection and purchased some, attempting to get as many different features as possible.
The following weekend he began installing his new windows. Once he began, he realized that his home had not been designed with windows in mind. Some of his windows didn't work very well until his house had been significantly customized and the cost of customizing his house was more expensive than the cost of his new windows. Also, installing his new windows was much more time consuming than he had anticipated.
Following a great deal of effort and cost, his new windows were finally installed. Because he had no real expectations for how his new windows should work, he was thrilled. After all, they let in some light, some fresh air, and provided a new view of his immediate world. There was no questions about it, windows had improved his house and he was pleased. Yet, he always wondered, "How much nicer would my house have been and how much better would my windows have worked had my house been designed in the first place with windows in mind?"