I'd say this goes to some odd myth that I see all too often. That if "you do it right," you won't have to do it again. Somehow, superior technique and dedication of past attempts was lost and that modern attempts are doomed to failure. In large, paradoxically to the explanation, because we are better at building things that just barely accomplish their goals.

That is, it is an odd blind spot to not realize that "barely exceeding the goal" is often far far harder than over building.