Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
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Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#2Because we have unreasonable expectations. Making things work well is hard, and thus expensive.
Take a chair, for example. Anyone can make a chair: just get a bucket, turn it over, and sit on it. Boom; backless chair. Want a backrest, arms? Get a 2x4, a saw, a drill, and some bolts. An hour later: Boom; chair.
You want a chair that works well? How do you even define works well for a chair? Do you need cushioning? Do you need to swivel? Do you need ergonomics? Do you need to sit in it for 15 hours? Do you need it to cost less than $1,000?
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#3It's not profitable.
See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#4... or things that work at all? (eg humidifiers, at various price points, maybe 40% of which are even functional when first unboxed)
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#5It's not profitable. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_White_Suit
I think there's a reason why that's a comedy film instead of a serious take on modern consumerism.
We have plenty of "indestructible" tools today. Cast Iron skillets, hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, ladders. Most furniture qualifies as well (though MDF-board crap exists, they still have a use. Its more efficient for a college-student to get disposable MDF-based crap for their dorms with a lifespan of ~4 years or less, rather than buy actually quality furniture).
These are called the "durable goods market", and plenty of them can be bought and work for years, decades even.
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Everything wears out given enough time. But my roof is expected to last 50 years and has a wind rating far in excess of any 50-year storm in my area (Florida roofs are famously shingled with the cheapest crap, because hurricanes hit them so often it doesn't make sense to invest into the roof... no roof can possibly survive a Cat3, Cat4, or Cat5 storm).
Because my area doesn't have tornadoes or hurricanes (at least, no notable ones in the past century), it makes sense for me to invest into my roof.
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#6... or things that work at all? (eg humidifiers, at various price points, maybe 40% of which are even functional when first unboxed)
I'm 2 for 2 on humidifiers (1 ultrasonic, 1 wick evaporative).
What fails on them?
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#7Spitballing a little, is it fair to say that something like emergence[1] affects information systems, and generally not in a good way?
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#8> Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
Asks someone that posts a giant wall of unreadable text.
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#9[dead]
Re: Why is it hard to buy things that work well?
#10> Why is it hard to buy things that work well? Asks someone that posts a giant wall of unreadable text.
Looks good on my phone. I guess not all writers are poets.
What did you think of the content of what they said?