Reliable information - was Automatic boring head?

----- Original Message -----
From: <hexagon@...>
> Sorry if I upset you but I have found most lists to be a very
> unreliable source of information, it is quicker to search out and read
> a good manual written by an expert than to sort out the wheat from the
> chaff offered on line. I think if a person commits himself to print
> and charges for it, the chances of it being useful information is
> petty good.

Now, I too don't want to upset anyone but...... ;o)...
you obviously don't read the same books as I do or are maybe not as critical
of their content. In my field of watchmaking and also amongst a good number
of engineering books I have read, there is very little 'original' material.
Rather, the works of earlier writers has been plagiarised with obvious
errors perpetuated and 'old wives tales' incorporated so that many of the
books are, at best, unreliable, and, at worst, downright dangerous. The kind
of thing I am talking about is the assertion which appears in several
supposedly respected texts, that you can cut glass with scissors provided it
is done under water! This is obviously an extreme example but many of the
well known texts contain errors which can be traced back to earlier works,
often originating in a mistranslation of a foreign text. Granted, there are
some useful modern books which are written by knowledgeable and practical
people but far too many are at best, theorists, and, at worst, just want to
make a living from writing. Sorting your way through this morass of books
can be far more time consuming than accessing this list - unless, of course,
you are prepared to take everything at face value.
At least on the list you are fairly sure that the contributors are practical
people and, amongst them there are true 'experts' in a number of fields.
Within the space of a couple of days, any problem is likely to get several
different solutions offered and you can then sort these out yourself. They
will probably all work in certain circumstances although they may not all
fit your situation of cost frame but then the same would surely apply to
'book learning'. Any offerings which are obviously unworkable will almost
certainly be condemned quite rapidly by those who have 'been there - done
that'.
All lists have a broad mixture of talents and personalities with less
contributors than 'monitors' and this is unfortunate as those who sit on the
sidelines could often make very valuable contributions, even if these are
only in a very small, specailised area.
All forms of learning have their place and I, for one, have gained a lot of
valuable information and assistance from this list. My interests are perhaps
more esoteric than most and I can only comment on subjects which are,
perhaps, peripheral to the core of the list, nevertheless, any contribution
I do make is carefully considered and given the same weight as I would
expect to place in a published book. You never know what use will be made of
the information you post to the internet and I was made aware a little while
ago of a substantial part of one of my postings to another list appearing as
an unattributed quote in an article in a well-known New York newspaper!

Ian
--
Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
www.iw63.freeserve.co.uk