Time and time again we read posts by people who FOR SURE know HL2 will run better on the 9800 or the 5900 and the other card plain SUCKS. These are $400 top-of-the-line cards that both handle wonderfully, HL2 isn't out yet, nor have driver updates been released. There is absoultely NO way to tell which card will be better exept by word-of-mouth. So why do people get so ticked off about them? The answer kids, is cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which has two major effects on learning:
If someone is called upon to learn something which contradicts what they already think they know — particularly if they are committed to that prior knowledge — they are likely to resist the new learning.
If learning something has been difficult, uncomfortable, or even humiliating enough, people are not likely to admit that the content of what has been learned is not valuable. To do so would be to admit that one has been "had", or "conned".
The more difficult it is to get on a course, the more participants are likely to value it and view it favourably regardless of its real quality. Ditto, the more expensive it is.
There you have it. Because people spend so much money on gfx cards, they are assuming they are getting the best. When information arises that questions or contradicts this, they are skeptical of it, even hostile.
So when you read these kind of posts, just remember that they need a shrink :bounce:
Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which has two major effects on learning:
If someone is called upon to learn something which contradicts what they already think they know — particularly if they are committed to that prior knowledge — they are likely to resist the new learning.
If learning something has been difficult, uncomfortable, or even humiliating enough, people are not likely to admit that the content of what has been learned is not valuable. To do so would be to admit that one has been "had", or "conned".
The more difficult it is to get on a course, the more participants are likely to value it and view it favourably regardless of its real quality. Ditto, the more expensive it is.
There you have it. Because people spend so much money on gfx cards, they are assuming they are getting the best. When information arises that questions or contradicts this, they are skeptical of it, even hostile.
So when you read these kind of posts, just remember that they need a shrink :bounce:
