How does a 21st Century IT Pro separate signal from noise in the constant bombardment of marketing messages? The answer is understanding fallacies which originate in 3rd century BC from the Greek philosopher, Aristotle.
Aristotle used fallacies to understand and rebut what people said in their arguments. A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves", in the construction of an argument.
Fallacies are common in the consumer media and it is up to the viewer to “detect them, so you’re not taken in by them” (Vaughn, 169). In advertisements “Fallacies are often beguiling; they seem plausible. Time and again they are psychologically persuasive."
In today's IT marketing, vendor marketing teams use fallacies to influence IT Professionals. Using a Star Trek analogy, fallacies in marketing content create a reality distortion field around a product or service.
A 21st Century IT Professional must understand what fallacies are, detect them and not be taken in by them. Using this skill the IT Pro has a better chance of seeing through the distortion field a vendor wraps around their product. In effect, understanding fallacies is like taking the Red Pill.
In this book we will explore ten intentional fallacies that make up the 21st Century IT Pro's guide to understanding vendor marketing. Each fallacy will be explained, with examples. An IT Pro with this knowledge will be able to cut through vendor distortion fields they wrap around their product or service.