Yes, your computer is making you crazy

Example number one of thinking to yourself:
Where did that email go?  Oh, here it is.  No.  It doesn't have that attachment I need.  That's not the right email.  Where the heck did it go?  Did I file it somewhere?  Maybe I detached that file to save email server quota.  But then I know I saved the file someplace.  Now I have to look through all the files on my hard drive...

Example number two between two information workers:
"I don't see it."
     "What?  I just sent it to you yesterday."

"I'm looking at all the emails you sent me in the last five days and I don't see an email with an attachment."
     "Maybe I sent it through our Instant Messenger session."

"Okay, let me check the conversation history."
     "And while you do that I'll go ahead and email it again."

"No, no, don't do that.  Let me look first.  Give me a chance to find it."
     "Ok."
     "Find it yet?"

"Hold on.  Gimme another minute."
     "Ok, so I got the file and I can send it again when you're ready."

"Fine.  Go ahead and send it again.  I SWEAR I saw it.  I KNOW I saw it.  Where the hell did it go?"
     "Don't worry about it.  It's no big deal."

"No, it is a big deal because I feel like I'm going crazy.  Why does this happen all the time?"
     "I don't care.  Let's hurry up and finish.  We already wasted enough time."

"Fine."

((( A week later... a bug was discovered.  IT sent out a company-wide notification.  The bug happen to randomly delete emails with suspicious attachments that were perfectly FINE. )))


There is actually a clinical diagnosis for this kind of hellish world.  There was even an old movie based on it.  And then the term from the movie became the clinical diagnosis.  It's called gas lighting.  It's a very effective way of driving someone insane.  And that's what computers do to information workers every day!  Yay!

P.S.  And yes, an evil manager can do the same shit to an undesirable employee.  It's super evil behavior.  Just like your computer and its faulty software, you don't want a manager like that.