Bad Assumptions
it’s not that people are irrational, it’s that human rationality is about more than what can be reduced to a number. Delight is a real thing, as is annoyance; not feeling stupid is worth so much more than theoretical capability. Knowing there is someone you can ask for help is just as important as never needing help in the first place.
Boldfaced emphasis added by me.
This reminded me of a guy who became dissatisfied with his Pocket PC in the course of just one evening: E Is Also For Envy.
Surrounded by everyone else with color screens, his monochrome Compaq Aero made him feel stupid for having bought it. At the beginning of the evening, he was in love with it when we talked about it. By the end of the night, he wished he’d spent more for color!
How do you put something like that in a spreadsheet?
Additional, at a past blog:
A Gadget Too Far
(The Comments that miss the point entirely are also worth a read)