On Thu, Apr 27, 2006 at 08:23:52AM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Although the "try it and see" approach is fun and intellectually > challenging, it really isn't productive for everyone. For example, I > wouldn't like to be paying a contractor who is getting paid per hour to > do a lot of "try it and see" as I don't really want to pay for his/her > exploration of dead ends and blind alleys.
I think the assumption is that when you contract someone to write code for you, you're paying for someone that knows what he's doing as opposed to a rank neophyte (unless you're only paying enough for a rank neophyte). > > A "guide" is always a better way to learn - that's why we have training. I disagree. I'd say, rather, that a "guide" is better than no "guide", all else being equal. Taking a Try It To see approach is likewise better than a passive approach, all else being equal. Combining the two is probably best of all -- usually, by trying something so that you KNOW what you're going to ask about when you start looking for a "guide". > > I am sensitive to the comment that there are indeed some people who > don't want to use a good example to learn from, but just have someone > else do their work for them, but I also believe that this kind of person > is pretty easy to recognize by their comments..... Yeah, usually those who aren't just looking for a free pass have already tried a couple things and done some research. I'm not saying you're wrong about the value of working examples -- just that working examples should often come after the try-and-fail approach. One typically learns more from failures than successes (which is primarily useful if the failures aren't catastrophic and fatal), though successes are more conducive to meeting immediate goals in a timely manner. A balance is needed, and it seems that balance is best reached by trying things before asking for the answer. -- Chad Perrin [ CCD CopyWrite | http://ccd.apotheon.org ] Ben Franklin: "As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of others we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any Invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously." -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <http://learn.perl.org/> <http://learn.perl.org/first-response>
