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Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
By:Steve Solomon
Date: 1/5/2017, 6:14 pm
In Response To: Re: Other: Over-Thinking It (Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks)

I know that for me it is frustrating when someone with no experiences comes along after reading something I or someone else has suggested, and asks "But, what if I did -insert cockamamy scheme-"

Yes, I certainly understand that, and I recognize that I was guilty of doing exactly that when I first started posting to the forum. I was over-excited, I'm sorry.

A few years ago, I started going to some martial arts classes that a friend was teaching. In that context, the teacher is the master, and your job is to do the moves, not to question them - and that's the right approach to martial arts. But in my view it isn't really "learning" it's "training." Similarly, memorizing facts isn't learning either. If I memorized your book and could recite back every page chapter and verse, I would still know nothing about how to build a kayak - I might know the "what" but not the "why," and without the "why" it's just a series of memorized movements.

I appreciate that it's often a fine line between a real question and a "challenge" - "why can't I bevel strips with a vegetable peeler if I want to?" isn't really a question. But if someone were to take a kayak building course, and afterwards the only thing they could tell me about CA glue was "Teacher says you are never supposed to use CA glue on scarf joints," then they don't really understand anything about glue, they have a "fact" not knowledge that they can use and apply.

If there were one, single "correct" way to build kayaks, then the people who built them wouldn't be craftsmen, they'd be assemblers. The craftsmanship comes from knowing the trade-offs of the various options, and choosing the most appropriate method for the specific circumstances at hand. That knowledge is the "gold." If I had the opportunity to build a kayak with you, and I spent the entire time doing nothing but trying to do exactly what you did, that would certainly be valuable - but if I had my choice, I'd much prefer to learn about what you DIDN'T do. But the only way to get that information is to ask.

I hope this doesn't sound condescending or worse - I don't mean it that way at all, I'm just trying to communicate the spirit behind my questions.

I truly appreciate the value of this forum - it's been a fantastic resource.

Messages In This Thread

Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 9:15 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 10:26 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 10:52 am
Withdrawl
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 12:31 pm
Re: Withdrawl
JohnAbercrombie -- 1/5/2017, 12:45 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 11:22 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Nick R. -- 1/5/2017, 10:42 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 11:07 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Walt -- 1/5/2017, 1:01 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 1:43 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Les Cheeseman -- 1/5/2017, 2:31 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 1/5/2017, 11:32 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
JohnAbercrombie -- 1/5/2017, 12:26 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
John Messinger -- 1/5/2017, 1:04 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Etienne Muller -- 1/5/2017, 3:27 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
JohnAbercrombie -- 1/5/2017, 11:57 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Etienne Muller -- 1/5/2017, 3:31 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 1/5/2017, 4:33 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
JohnAbercrombie -- 1/5/2017, 12:23 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
GCole -- 1/5/2017, 1:06 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
JohnAbercrombie -- 1/5/2017, 1:16 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/5/2017, 1:49 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It *PIC*
Roy Martin -- 1/5/2017, 2:14 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It *PIC*
Roy Martin -- 1/5/2017, 2:17 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 2:26 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter -- 1/6/2017, 8:52 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/6/2017, 10:25 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter F Lord -- 1/6/2017, 10:47 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Marc Upchurch -- 1/6/2017, 11:34 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Bill Hamm -- 1/7/2017, 12:40 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/7/2017, 9:51 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/7/2017, 10:53 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Marc Upchurch -- 1/7/2017, 11:12 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/7/2017, 1:41 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Marc Upchurch -- 1/7/2017, 3:01 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/7/2017, 3:47 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Marc Upchurch -- 1/7/2017, 5:25 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Bill Hamm -- 1/8/2017, 12:25 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter F Lord -- 1/8/2017, 9:55 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Marc Upchurch -- 1/8/2017, 11:22 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter F Lord -- 1/8/2017, 3:54 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Bill Mayberry -- 1/8/2017, 5:36 pm
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Bill Hamm -- 1/9/2017, 1:17 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter F Lord -- 1/9/2017, 4:54 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/9/2017, 8:09 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Bill Hamm -- 1/12/2017, 1:26 am
Re: SOF kayak and biplane construction
Peter F Lord -- 1/15/2017, 5:29 am
Cluture Comment - Yes
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 2:11 pm
Re: Cluture Comment - Yes
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 2:45 pm
Re: Cluture Comment - Yes
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 3:46 pm
Re: Cluture Comment - Yes
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 4:33 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Etienne Muller -- 1/5/2017, 3:52 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 1/5/2017, 5:11 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Randy Echtinaw -- 1/5/2017, 5:41 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It *PIC*
scottbaxter -- 1/5/2017, 5:59 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 6:09 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
scottbaxter -- 1/5/2017, 6:32 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 7:17 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Marc Upchurch -- 1/5/2017, 7:39 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 10:39 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Bill Hamm -- 1/6/2017, 3:32 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 1/6/2017, 10:22 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Bill Hamm -- 1/8/2017, 12:31 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 6:14 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
John -- 1/5/2017, 6:32 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Nick R. -- 1/5/2017, 6:41 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 6:57 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 1/5/2017, 7:41 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Steve Solomon -- 1/5/2017, 11:51 pm
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Bill Hamm -- 1/6/2017, 3:09 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Les Cheeseman -- 1/6/2017, 9:46 am
How the forum functions
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 1/6/2017, 11:29 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 1/6/2017, 11:03 am
Re: Other: Over-Thinking It
Rob Macks/Laughing Loon CC&K -- 1/6/2017, 11:57 am