It's also been frustrating in the realization of how seldom rational thought actually factors into decisions: how often reason is abandoned or patterns of thought follow obvious fallacies, based on superficial (if any) consideration - to take, sometimes after great deliberation, a route that is more convenient, more familiar, and more efficient rather than seeking an effective solution to a problem.
Likely this is immediately heading in the direction of a cranky disillusioned rant about how decisions that consume obscene amounts of resources and affect untold lives are made with very little valid thought, which was not my original intent, but if it were not so there would be little point in suggesting that a structured approach to decision-making was at all beneficial.
Yet the more I try to approach the topic for a positive angle, the more I find myself reminded of instances in which a rational process of thought was not merely neglected, but intentionally rejected in favor of gut-feel instinct, emotionalism, or social pressure.
It's particularly problematic in user experience, where the suggestion of presenting the customer with a straightforward and logical process is overwhelmed by knee-jerk reaction, the whim of a silverback, or the sense that reason is inapplicable because "people don't think," only to be replaced by a sloppy and obviously flawed alternative that is in the long-term best interest of neither the customer nor the firm.
I'm not having much luck at the moment in silencing my inner pessimist, and apathy is setting in with a vengeance, so I'll need to end this rumination, likely before it's started in earnest, and make a note to return to it when I'm in a better frame of mind. Ironic, is it not?
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