Josh started a couple of threads with some questions regarding kayak features and their effects on boat 'handling'. It seemed, to me at least, as if he were looking for facts that would allow him to file away in his mind certain feature/relative effect concepts. That's great, and something that any curious individual does in their search for knowledge. Several folks (myself included) responded saying that what he was looking for were generalisations and that they weren't necessarily accurate. That's the problem with generalisations. However.....let's all (expert, intermediate & beginner alike) be aware of the learning process - at first we experience something new, if it interests us we tend to pursue the experience again. Then we move to observation - now we're learning....new skills, observing interplay between objects (paddler/boat/paddle), learning cause and effect, etc. After observation we take the facts we've observed and try to categorize them (the generalisation stage) so that we can recall and reuse them in the future. This all happens within a relatively short period of time. Then as we continue along the experiential/observational path we begin to start to see patterns, nuances, discrepancies in expected effects, etc. We're still learning, putting our knowledge to the test over and over again, constantly refining our observations and the resultant conclusions. We're still generalizing; however the "cubbyholes" where the knowledge is stored are becoming smaller and more numerous. It's a process-not a problem. So, my apology for coming down on generalisations. I'll stop rambling - time for that paddle, high tide in 45 minutes. Dave Seng Juneau, Alaska *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 5/14/00 6:49:46 PM, dseng_at_gci.net writes: << So, my apology for coming down on generalisations. I'll stop rambling - time for that paddle, high tide in 45 minutes. >> Hi Dave, Everything you said was appropriate, I wouldn't expect Josh to take offense. The difficulty for him is trying to learn a lot very quickly and in the abstract so he can feel comfortable selecting a boat. We all generalize, it happens. Sometimes there just isn't enough time to be specific about every little detail. Each of us decides when the generalizations no longer work for us, but at the start they are helpful. Jed *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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