Food for thought
Hi all! I realized that I haven't had a good discussion topic in a while, so I thought I'd throw out something that I've been pondering recently, as a result of being in a graduate program centered around discussion with potential users and clients. I'll present a bunch of questions on the subject and then basically open it up to discussion, so get your debating caps on!
* How much do people really know what they want?
* How much do people really know what they need?
* Is there a difference between the first two? If so, why?
* If people do not know what they want and/or need, is this something that they can learn?
* Are there any ramifications for the way society is conducted based on the first two questions, specifically in terms of management and government?
My own take is that people have a good handle on what they want, but usually not on what they need. The difference is that it's usually pretty obvious what people want, but it tends to take a lot of introspection and analysis of a situation for a person to divine what they truly need. A lot of people just don't have the time or motivation to do that, and will generally only do so when prodded in that direction. I'd suggest that a lot of people might benefit from that prodding, in that they would be pushed to make decisions which are better than what they might otherwise come up with.
Anyone else? (looks in thevortex's direction, again)
* How much do people really know what they want?
* How much do people really know what they need?
* Is there a difference between the first two? If so, why?
* If people do not know what they want and/or need, is this something that they can learn?
* Are there any ramifications for the way society is conducted based on the first two questions, specifically in terms of management and government?
My own take is that people have a good handle on what they want, but usually not on what they need. The difference is that it's usually pretty obvious what people want, but it tends to take a lot of introspection and analysis of a situation for a person to divine what they truly need. A lot of people just don't have the time or motivation to do that, and will generally only do so when prodded in that direction. I'd suggest that a lot of people might benefit from that prodding, in that they would be pushed to make decisions which are better than what they might otherwise come up with.
Anyone else? (looks in thevortex's direction, again)