>On Friday, July 21, David Vanderhooven said: > >>I personally don't understand all of what is being discussed, but I am >saving >it for future reference, for a time when I may have the knowledge necessary >to grasp the concepts being discussed.> > Yes, I think that this brings up a point. I have noticed from time to time that some of my collegues have been feeling a little overwhelmed, or is that underwhelmed, by some of the threads - especially the more esoteric and far reaching theoretical discussions going on here. I guess if the subject, pianos, wasn't one that we all have such a stake in we could more easily take a few steps back and have a laugh. David, your comment above reminds me of a minister I once worked for who told me that there are two ways to go about learning something - the squirrel method and the spider method. The squirrel gathers nuts and stores them away to use later (i.e. your reference) and the spider spins it out of his own guts. Although, he commented at the time that he prefered the later method I have come to the conclusion over the years that at different times in a learning process one method or the other comes into play as appropriate. I find myself using the squirrel method a lot when moving into a new area or trying to unravel all of the various viewpoints people present on subjects (ie the ongoing discussions around action geometry), filing away posts in various submailboxes that I have created so that I can return later and reread and analize them. I then may be able to form some useful questions to contribute, at least. Those who are spewing out all of their theories are simply using the spider method. I think when using this approach it is necessary to do it with conviction. One may appear to be pontificating or being somekind of guru in the process, but in reality they are only testing their theories in the larger arena. They are all out on their own limb. Usually, the things they are talking about are things they have thought about for a long time, given attention to and tested in various ways. All of those little acorns have fermented deep down in the subconcious layers of their minds and recombined, and are now reemerging in a new form. I find this process truly exciting. And, I think that this medium, pianotech, is important in that it serves a catalyst to this process. It exists as a kind of halfway point, somewhere between being simply a verbal bull session and a formally published text on a topic. So, I think that as we read what others post we need to add qualifiers like -"This is a Test," and "Don't take the following as a pronouncement from on high, etc. . . Oh, before I end this let me say that I hope to hear a lot of reports on what goes on in New Mexico. regards, Bill Darst Music Dept UC Santa Barbara
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