[Discuss] Its not possible to make things easier for users

[Mark Woodward]

On 01/14/2013 08:47 PM, Derek Martin wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 14, 2013 at 06:21:59PM -0500, Rich Pieri wrote:
>> On Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:39:10 -0500
>> Shirley Márquez Dúlcey <mark at buttery.org> wrote:
>>
>>> The catch is that this may cause a severe performance drop in an
>>> engine designed for high octane fuel, not the mere 10HP that
>>> somebody alluded to.
>> That was me, and it shouldn't be more than about 10HP at the high end
>> under normal circumstances.
>>
>> ANYWAY. Joe Consumer doesn't give a damn about any of this. He just
>> wants to push a button, fill the tank, and go.
> Yes, but this kind of speaks to Mark's points (regarding things being
> complicated and Joe Consumer not knowing what he doesn't know).  Your
> assertions quite differ from everything I personally have read on the
> subject (which is a fair number of articles at this point) and even if
> you ARE right, my owner's manual states quite clearly that running on
> low octane gas will damage the engine, and the catalytic converter,
> and void my warranty.  I'll choose to believe the folks who'll make me
> pay hand over fist to repair my car for doing what they expressly told
> me not to...

Well, there is a lot of science in modern cars. The retardation of the 
ignition timing could allow unburned gas to reach the catalytic 
converter.  This could cause some damage. Sure.
>
> I'm not about to trust that YOU know what you don't know, since it's
> nearly impossible to know that something you think you know is
> wrong.  I (fortunately) lack the empirical experience to KNOW whether
> you're right, and acquiring that experience is not worth the expense
> of doing so, should you turn out to be wrong.   Sources of information
> are plentiful; sources of CORRECT information are few, and even those
> may be open to interpretation.
>
> Why does this matter to this discussion?  In part, it's because most
> people aren't interested in reading their owner's manual, and as a
> result are more likely to listen to, say, trusted friends who may or
> may not have any idea what they're talking about.  Worse yet, they'll
> listen to people they recognize on the internet...  But either way,
> they got their info from someone whom at some point they decided they
> trust; so when they come to you, the well-informed support person,
> they're not in a hurry to believe you, if what you're telling them
> differs from what they think they know.  I like to call this "who got
> there first" syndrome.
>
>
>
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