gigabecquerel

One of my pet peeves is when people say "That's too expensive" without even naming a price. Some things float around in peoples heads as "very expensive" while they have never heard a price for it, or know how it changed in the years since they heard about it.

Some engineering problems can easily be solved by throwing some money at them, as opposed to spending weeks thinking about how to avoid that >.>

Mar 26 at 9:14amWeb
Show threadMx. Chara Aznable (they/them) of PnictogenMar 26
@gigabecquerel I could write a whole essay on the weird way that people suddenly become experts in accountancy when its proposed that money be spent on people rather than property or business. It's easy enough to talk about expenditures in a way that makes them sound like shocking wastage, no matter the context (or even the quantity).
Show threadAlisonW ♿🏳️‍🌈♾️Mar 26
@gigabecquerel
It's too expensive *for them* is the issue, and it might only be at that occasion. The acceptability of costs is dependant on the individual, location, even time of the month (ie payday), that it's a term without reference. And where engineering is concerned the value of time is of major importance too. I join in your peeve.
Show threadsky-guidedMar 26

@gigabecquerel "try to find the actual price, don't assume" has become a minor maxim to me for this exact reason.

Especially now with the proliferation of good-enough Chinese tools for 1/10th of traditional prices

Show threadsky-guidedMar 26

@gigabecquerel related, I have never regretted asking myself the question "how do folks with decades of professional experience solve this problem, and can I do it that way too?"

Often the answer is totally out of reach, but every time I've moved from a "hobbyist" technique to something more pro it's been both easier and yielded better results.