Scaling is about design, not about running on slow, unstable and expensive servers. If you want scale, you need to design software for your own needs. And, unless you're building your own datacenter, chances are infrastructure should be an enabler, not a pain point.
A noisy neighbour doesn't make you think about asynchronous processing. A single network adapter doesn't result in a denormalized model.
If I sold you a $200K car with no safety features, will you think "this thing is great, it puts you in a mindset to drive very safely"?
This metaphor falls apart pretty quickly. If you leased me a car that was unsafe, except that when it crashed a new car appeared exactly where the last one was and noone was hurt, I'd think it was fine.
A noisy neighbour doesn't make you think about asynchronous processing. A single network adapter doesn't result in a denormalized model.
If I sold you a $200K car with no safety features, will you think "this thing is great, it puts you in a mindset to drive very safely"?