[META] How to be an expert

[Jon maddog Hall]

ken at jots.org said:
> I've read perhaps two-dozen books on beekeeping, but the vast majority of my
> experience was accrued as an actual beekeeper, in talking with beekeepers
> (yes, beekeepers have meetings, too), in hanging out with beekeepers,
> subscribing to beekeeping magazines, and, lastly, in taking short courses in
> beekeeping.  Alas, I haven't done any beekeeping since I moved to NH, and I'm
> now somewhat rusty (eg., the amount I know about the relatively recent plague
> of mites is pretty small, and I have no idea as to the current state of the
> Africanized bee incursion).  Nevertheless, for a while there, I probably
> qualified as an "expert;" I even briefly flirted with the idea of pursuing
> entemology.

> In other words, I have to agree: books are great.  And, for computer folks,
> essential: there's just too much that needs reference.  (Eg., if I were to
> switch from three-banded Italian honeybees (the "default" honeybee in North
> America) to, say, grey caucasian honeybees, I don't imagine that too much
> would change.  If one wants to switch from writing VB on Windows to Java on
> Linux, it's time to hit them books.)

Odd,

I too have read about two dozen books on beekeeping and bees in general, took
a course at the University of Maryland in beekeeping, was good friends with the
owner of Dutch Gold Honey (at one time a fairly large beekeeping business in
the Lancaster, PA region), kept five hives for about four years myself.

> But books are far from the only way to learn stuff

Never said they were.  I also mentioned that my forestry friend did "field
work", and so did I, to learn both computers and beekeeping.  But the *amount*
of information to be learned was demonstrated by the *number* of books...not
in the thousands or even hundreds, but in the simple dozen or so....the right
books.

>especially when it's something that's not academic in nature.

I learned to ride a bicycle by reading a book.   My father never told me a
crucial piece of information ("Try turning the wheel to keep your balance."),
so I kept falling off.  A book from the library clued me in on that little
technique.  My father is a good man, just not a teacher.

I got better at sports by reading books.  Learned to tie flies by reading books.
Learned to fish better by reading books.

Sure, I had to practice casting.  Even after reading the best books you can not
just go out and make the perfect cast.  And you could learn from more
experienced anglers, but they are not always the best teachers, nor do they
always tell you all their tricks. :-)

And there are bad books, just as there are bad teachers....you have to learn
to sift through the chaff in both cases.

>P.S.  Get me drunk, and I'll even quote beekeeper poetry to ya'. ;-)

I usually tell people about the mating habits of the queen bee.....yes Ken,
you know what I mean.

md
-- 
Jon "maddog" Hall
Executive Director           Linux International(R)
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