Of all the childish and naive notions a person could have, the one that is the hardest for me to outgrow is believing that the world is supposed to make sense, more or less; that people's way of life is supposed to be -- not perfect -- but at least semi-rational and explainable.
Take consumer behavior. Most of life is gobbled up by work -- one of life's most over-rated activities. Then the wage-slave runs around town or the internet and spends all of their money. And yet, they aren't any good at it. Why don't they want to be good at it?
A local business got a new owner a couple years ago. And I like the way they run the business. It is a trailer repair and parts place. I asked the owner why trailer springs have a reputation for breaking, whereas leaf spring suspensions on trucks seldom break.
This led to me pontificating about the reluctance of consumers to spend one more dollar where it might actually do some good. But the owner 'hijacked the thread' by turning the issue to one of morality.
But I stand by my point: a "good" consumer is normally considered one who does price comparisons. But what good does it do them to split hairs quantitatively if they don't understand the qualitative differences between one product and the next? And how do you do that if you don't understand any of the basic principles and categories of science and engineering?
I assume that it is still the case that a person leaves primary and secondary education with little knowledge of, and no interest in, science. I am not referring to the algebraic scrabble of science, but to a layman's knowledge of the "How Things Work" type.
What an irony! The modern world is what it is, largely on the basis of science and technology, but a person leaves the diploma factory with more knowledge of Beowulf -- in the old days -- or Afro-American/feminist/lesbian poets in more recent times.
Take consumer behavior. Most of life is gobbled up by work -- one of life's most over-rated activities. Then the wage-slave runs around town or the internet and spends all of their money. And yet, they aren't any good at it. Why don't they want to be good at it?
A local business got a new owner a couple years ago. And I like the way they run the business. It is a trailer repair and parts place. I asked the owner why trailer springs have a reputation for breaking, whereas leaf spring suspensions on trucks seldom break.
This led to me pontificating about the reluctance of consumers to spend one more dollar where it might actually do some good. But the owner 'hijacked the thread' by turning the issue to one of morality.
But I stand by my point: a "good" consumer is normally considered one who does price comparisons. But what good does it do them to split hairs quantitatively if they don't understand the qualitative differences between one product and the next? And how do you do that if you don't understand any of the basic principles and categories of science and engineering?
I assume that it is still the case that a person leaves primary and secondary education with little knowledge of, and no interest in, science. I am not referring to the algebraic scrabble of science, but to a layman's knowledge of the "How Things Work" type.
What an irony! The modern world is what it is, largely on the basis of science and technology, but a person leaves the diploma factory with more knowledge of Beowulf -- in the old days -- or Afro-American/feminist/lesbian poets in more recent times.
Comments
The vast majority of people not only have no desire to learn anything about science but they also do not care to know "How Things Work".
Look at the Big Picture. What would happen to the Chinese economy if everyone stated buying quality (things that last) as well as our own GDP that is based on buying, buying and more buying?
You think that people don't care how things work? Perhaps it is becoming more like that every year as automobiles become unrepairable for the layman, and as we become a nation of uni-sex cubicle rats.
My springs were 2900# stated capacity (each), mounted on 5200# axles, with 2350# tires. They were made in Tulsa, Oklahoma by EMC. My trailer weighs 4,000# on each side, loaded. Why did they fracture and then fail? Tandem axles (I have learned from the RV Tire Safety Blog) create stresses that our single axle trucks don't experience. Did EMC lack quality control procedures? Did they purchase poor quality raw steel? I don't know. I now have a different manufacturer's 3500# springs installed (also USA manufactured).
It is not possible to be an informed buyer in the modern economy, on your own. The products are too complex. We consumers need third parties to our transactions to ensure a fair transaction. That would be government at all levels usually, or other "arms-length" organizations. Independent, non-profit Consumer Reports can be helpful, if they test the product we want to purchase.
Chris