Mental Simulations And Cloud Computing: Faulty Reasoning Meet The Coming Reality
November 5, 2012
Grazed from CloudTweaks. Author: Don Cleveland.
My journey to purchasing a MacBook Air and adopting the cloud for all my data storage needs was fraught with many naysayers. What amazed me most was the salesman who challenged my commitment.
When faced with the idea of selling me something without a traditional hard drive no less than four salesmen attempted to talk me out of it. When pressed for reason all they could tell me was that the MacBook Pro was better because it contained a hard drive and a DVD slot for about the same price. When I explained that I was a writer and wanted the lightweight and faster processing capabilities an interesting social transaction took place that demonstrated the mismatch between my mental simulations and the salesman’s reasoning. Similar disconnects are happening every day as decisions are made about utilizing cloud computing…
These salesmen simply did not believe I wanted to store data on the cloud and forgo storage on a hard drive. They attempted to appeal to my sense of reason using a decision-making theory called economic utility. They’re thinking was that surely the Pro made more sense than the Air because it offered a better value that I could see, feel, and touch. Never mind that I didn’t want a heavier machine with a fan and a hard drive but a more nimble notebook and cloud storage. I was framing my decision around what I valued subjectively also known as a mental simulation. I’m imagining the quick start-up and thin design alongside the loss of data I had already experienced with traditional storage.
Mental Simulation Trumps Utility Theory
The four salesmen I dealt with were applying a version of the utility theory that tried to appeal to my rational need to get more for the same money. For them and MacBook Pro buyers it is easier to imagine data they can drag around in a metal box. My imagination was more geared to less hassle and adjusting to remote storage to meet that goal…
Read more from the source @ http://www.cloudtweaks.com/2012/11/mental-simulations-and-cloud-computing-faulty-reasoning-meet-the-coming-reality/