[eviks]

> I’m not sure why, but we seem more willing to spend money on good fruit jam than on good software. I notice that I spend less on personal software than I do on groceries and many basic things.

Because you can die without groceries and suffer a lot without other basics unlike with personal software?

> Consider its cost per use

Just pick a better metric (like mortal cost per non-use) and it will make sense.

[chrismcb]

The point isn't where you live or die. The point is that we are willing to spend more for a good product, when that product isn't software (I don't think that is true) he wasn't saying "we buy jam but not software" he was saying "we are willing to spend more money on artesian jam than on good quality software"

[eviks]

No, what he was saying is directly in my quote, and it directly compares "groceries" and "basic things" to sofware. Good jam is compared to good software.

[kepano]

I don't think you will die if you buy cheap jam — at least not quickly. The choice people make to buy higher quality jam isn't a function of life or death. It seem related to a perception of value, which good software doesn't seem to evoke for the vast majority of people.

[eviks]

Do you think you will die if you don't buy "groceries and many basic things."? Is it an issue that all "personal software" doesn't evoke enough of a perceived value compared to those two categories?

[kepano]

Yes, it seems uncontroversial to say you will eventually die if you don't eat food... And it seems uncontroversial to say that eating higher quality food will help you live longer. Quality food deserves your hard-earned cash too.

The relationship between health and software is less tenuous than it may seem. We spend so much of our time using software — it can have a significant effect on our health. See studies that explore social media use and its relation to depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, etc.

Big food and big software are similar in that they are cheaper to mass produce, more effective to advertise at scale. As such many people are trapped into assuming there are no alternatives. You may never develop an understanding of what it is you're being fed.