Why I choose principle over recipes
I was wrist-smacked recently for producing "complex and confusing" articles. As much as I regret confusing you, I want to take a moment to make my approach to writing clear.
I choose to communicate "principle" before I share process or recipes.
Process is methodical and offers clear steps of what needs to be done, but offers very little in understanding the laws and principles behind the actions.
Let me offer you an example: in ancient times ships and boats were made of wood.
Why?
Simple! In the mind of ancient shipbuilders wood floats and therefore a boat made of wood will float too.
This idea that a boat floats because it's made of wood seems plausible when dealing with a raft or canoe, but the recipe fails when building a large gallium or ancient war ship.
Today, shipbuilders use metal to build massive ships because they understand the principle behind floating objects.
So, what makes a ship float?
The principle of displacement helps explain the phenomenon of a giant aircraft carrier ship floating on water: the principle says ... if the ship weighs less than the water it pushes out the way when its put into the sea - it will float!
Shipbuilders make the shape of the ship in such a way that the ship pushes many tonnes of water away, so it can carry lots of cargo too.
If shipbuilders didn't understand the principle of displacement, modern ships would be smaller and still made of wood.
Here's the problem with principles; they make people think, and force people to assume responsibility for applying the principle to their recipe themselves. Sometime we get the recipes wrong, which means we have to try and try again until we get it right. Practice ...
Here's the problem with recipes: they only work under perfect conditions. If your conditions are less than perfect the recipe will fail and leave you clueless. Great for me, because you will come running to me for help to fix your problem. Only thing is... I want you to be an independent thinker, able and capable of solving your problem yourself. I write articles accordingly.
I choose to communicate "principle" before I share process or recipes.
Process is methodical and offers clear steps of what needs to be done, but offers very little in understanding the laws and principles behind the actions.
Let me offer you an example: in ancient times ships and boats were made of wood.
Why?
Simple! In the mind of ancient shipbuilders wood floats and therefore a boat made of wood will float too.
This idea that a boat floats because it's made of wood seems plausible when dealing with a raft or canoe, but the recipe fails when building a large gallium or ancient war ship.
Today, shipbuilders use metal to build massive ships because they understand the principle behind floating objects.
So, what makes a ship float?
The principle of displacement helps explain the phenomenon of a giant aircraft carrier ship floating on water: the principle says ... if the ship weighs less than the water it pushes out the way when its put into the sea - it will float!
Shipbuilders make the shape of the ship in such a way that the ship pushes many tonnes of water away, so it can carry lots of cargo too.
If shipbuilders didn't understand the principle of displacement, modern ships would be smaller and still made of wood.
Here's the problem with principles; they make people think, and force people to assume responsibility for applying the principle to their recipe themselves. Sometime we get the recipes wrong, which means we have to try and try again until we get it right. Practice ...
Here's the problem with recipes: they only work under perfect conditions. If your conditions are less than perfect the recipe will fail and leave you clueless. Great for me, because you will come running to me for help to fix your problem. Only thing is... I want you to be an independent thinker, able and capable of solving your problem yourself. I write articles accordingly.
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