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Auto-didactic? | 9 comments

[new] Speed kills, or does it? (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#4)
by PeterHuetmannsberger (huetmann <at> violine.at) on Fri Mar 19th, 2004 at 04:04:11 PM EURODISCORDIA TIME
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Aileen has already brought up the subject of violin making, so I thought I would answer for myself.

I did my apprenticeship for three years with a selftaught violin maker, who spent lots of time in other people's workshop, a long time before the internet was made public. After those three years I had the feeling I knew it all, and started my own business right away. Many a time I regretted that move and I am sure I would have had it much easier, had I spent more years with other makers before I set off by myself. I just tried to describe to my wife how I see the difference between knowing things and knowledge. I may know how to construct a certain feature in an instrument, but not until my hands know how to do that job by themselves, do I consider it "knowing" the job. This is much more easily acquired through being shown, I feel, than through studying what's on the web, or at the same token a book.

Michael, you might be right, it is a luxury, but so are handmade cabinets or in my case musical instruments. In the academic world anything besides business studies and IT seem to have become the same kind of luxury. I think it would be a shame not to be able to offer to the internet generation the "old", luxurious way of learning besides the "fast" and independent way. Even if it is just for the inevitable conflicts that arise between, in my field, a master and an apprentice, which produce new ground for growing in whatever way.

And to try an answer to your question. I am sure this is happening already. If you look at the IT world, quite often experience counts a lot more, than academic status, which is a good thing, I believe, but shouldn't we be careful, that because of the acceleraton of things the "old" ways don't get lost?

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Auto-didactic? | 9 comments

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