Comments on: One does not imply the other

By: saulgoode

saulgoode — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:13:20 +0000

“None of our men are ‘experts.’ We have most unfortunately found it necessary to get rid of a man as soon as he thinks himself an expert because no one ever considers himself expert if he really knows his job. A man who knows a job sees so much more to be done than he has done, that he is always pressing forward and never gives up an instant of thought to how good and how efficient he is. Thinking always ahead, thinking always of trying to do more, brings a state of mind in which nothing is impossible. The moment one gets into the ‘expert’ state of mind a great number of things become impossible.” — Henry Ford

By: Links 11/11/2010: The Linux 2.6.37 FS Benchmarks, MPlayer Turns Ten | Techrights

Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:53:40 +0000

[...] One does not imply the other Because judging your own ability is inherently subjective. Just as an example, I see myself as a beginner and probably always will. People graduate from university on a daily (monthly? quarterly?) basis with computer and Linux proficiency that far outstrips mine. [...]

By: nothingspecial

nothingspecial — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:30:55 +0000

Lies.

You are the expert in using old computers.

I don`t know o9f any other site that has more than this on the subject

By: nothingspecial

nothingspecial — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:27:00 +0000

Lies.

You are the expert on these matters.

There is no other blog that has taught me so much about running old computers.

By: bpalone

bpalone — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:00:40 +0000

You’re correct in your self assessment. Will Rogers stated it best: “We’re all ignorant. Just in different areas.”

Now, where does this false notion (the one you mention and describe) originate from? Well, first we have almost all the responses to people on any Linux forum being CLI based. So, that makes a logical leap for most people.

Add to that, the fact we now have at least one generation, maybe two, that have never had anything but a GUI to work with. They didn’t have to learn a bunch of commands in order to get a program running and to get useful output from the same.

Those of us that are old enough, cut our computing teeth on a command line. Furthermore, most of us (of that age group) jump to the command line to trouble shoot issues, regardless of the OS. We know that it is more powerful and gets the answers for us quicker. Now, does being an older computer user make an expert? I think not! As for myself, my learning journey is still in its infancy.

By: Armor Nick

Armor Nick — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:14:11 +0000

You’re exactly right, of course. My motto is actually that to become the best, you always have to try to get better. Take the following for instance:

“I am a good programmer. I can program in Java, C, C++ and languages generally using the same syntax. However, I am bad at Python. Does that make me a bad programmer?”

“I’m a computer expert. I know my way around a windows computer and am able to fix most things in a standard Windows install. However, I am unable to fix a standard Ubuntu install. Am I still a computer expert?”

The world of IT is extremely fragmented, and even after I get my degree, I will refuse to state any of the above. I will never be a computer expert as long as I don’t know my way around every single system. And I refuse to be simply called a ‘good programmer’ without a language between those two words.

By: HilltopYodeler

HilltopYodeler — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 16:19:54 +0000

R.O.T – In my wacky world, that stands for “Right On Target”. Kmandla, I love your outlook on things; if you wrote a book, I’d buy it. Being an “expert” at something is usually a matter of opinion, whether it’s someone else’s opinion or the individual expert’s own opinion — it’s all relative to the situation at hand. For instance, perhaps your boss or your colleagues consider you an “expert” at what you do, which is a good thing and earns you respect. But, at the same time, you may not consider yourself an “expert” at what you do because the path of learning is endless and that one can truly never really be an “expert”. It’s all a matter of opinion. I think that if we just keep learning about the things that we are interested in, that we get better at what we do, we advance our knowledge, we stimulate our minds, and we gain satisfaction through personal improvement; perhaps in the process, in the eyes of a bystander, we might appear to be an expert, but most likely we are experts only in comparison to their own knowledge and skill.

For me, the path of learning is endless in all things that I am interested in; we never really quite “get there” because we’re always on our way to our destination… but I guess that’s how I like it. “Expert” is a funny word and in my opinion, seems to only be relevant to the person who is using the word. I prefer the word “experienced”; to me it simply means that you know more now than you did yesterday.

By: Nootilus

Nootilus — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 10:30:06 +0000

Maybe you can bother less about peoples than about yourself on that specific point? I have on some topics the same point of view as yours but after a while I think that peoples aren’t children and if they cannot be aware of their own skills, flaws and still need to be managed because it’s easier for them (like parents who still call you to ask what to do when the computer says something and the only choice is to click the only “Ok” button for example), then, well, let them make their own path.

What I’m trying to mean with my poor english, is that I follow with attention your blog because thanks to you I’m now “taking back control” of my computer. I’m still a very beginner with linux, and actually can’t go further than having a Crunchbang where I try to do as much as I can through CLI instead of GUI. Most of what I can do I know from you and a few others. I know no one around me who can help if I’m stuck or if I want to do something and can’t find suitable documentation.

Therefore, I think you shouldn’t loose too much time with such consideration about peoples lost by the wrong idea that Linux & CLI are for computer gurus. Except if you plan to teach them, of course.

I am not sure at all I was clear enough with what I intented to write in my reply. If not, and if you have enough time, I’ll be pleased to discuss that with you.

With regards,
One of your reader,
Vincent “Nootilus” Corlaix