The internet's supply of masters is much larger and more accessible. Is there a reason to think the video or other sources he found are from someone inferior in expertise to a local? Does that reason apply even for people who live outside major urban centers?

Also, that line of thinking is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. Remember the most likely outcome before was recognizing the cost of acquiring the knowledge exceeded the benefit of having it; there would have been no learning at all.

The Internet's supply of poseurs is far greater still.

I think Stack Overflow is the canonical example. It feels like I deal daily with people who paste something from Stack Overflow instead of reading up on a library or API. It is made worse by all those to game their score system by being very quick to paste in a semi-related "answer".

The Internet's supply of poseurs is far greater still - Holden Caulfield

Ouch. Nailed it. :D

(unless xorcist is freakin' Holden himself!)

At least on the internet you can tell who's lying and who isn't. SO lets you vote. If a bartender blatantly lies to you, you don't find out until days and there is no accountability.

Most online videos are made by people good at making videos. There not the same people that are good at making drinks or whatever.

Most people good at making videos have better things to make videos on than random niche hobbies and crafts. If you step out of the popculture, you'll see a lot of videos made by those who do the work.

I'm subscribed to YouTube channels devoted to crafts such as woodworking, cooking, metalworking, development, sewing, drink mixing, and others, and very few of them use professional equipment or editing software. Some of the most entertaining ones do, of course, but mostly because they started small and were able to grow their audience enough to turn it into a career, over the course of which they picked up the skills to improve the quality of the videos.

Those other skills form the foundation of successful online video channels, with the video skills following suit.

Yea, there are plenty of people worth following out there. But, a few minutes of random searching is probably not going to show you one of the gems. Unless, I am just bad at finding videos.

Consider then finding an on-line community of enthusiasts first. Like, in case of woodworking, /r/woodworking and some of the other subreddits listed in the sidebar there. Spend few minutes there, and you'll know where to find the best 5% of woodworking sources available to mankind.

Let me emphasize it - thanks to the Internet, you have access to the best knowledge and experience entire humanity has produced. All it takes is some experience with using the Internet and spending little time on filtering links.

I think your vastly overstating what videos people put online.

I think woodworking is hard to qualify. So, let's simplify.

1) A master craftsman video demonstrating how to make an Italian style flat bread oven from someone that spent ~15+ years learning and building them.

2) One of those small but highly accurate mechanical clocks that's accurate enough for navigation at sea.

3) A European ed: (English) style saddle made by a craftsman, as in someone that made and sold 100 others before it.

I am sure there are at least a few hundred people with those skills world wide, but actually finding a detailed video made by one of them online seems much harder. As in something that's good enough to learn from not just advertising or a 'how it's made' video showing some highlights.

It's 3:30 EST on Friday. Let's give it 24 hours. ;)

Moving the goalposts to the furthest conceivable distance isn't going to prove anything to anybody. Nobody claimed you could completely master a trade skill just from watching YouTube videos.

The parent post (TeMPOraL) said:

have access to the best knowledge and experience entire humanity has produced

Sure, you can find plenty of videos on how make a hard boiled egg, apply tile, or do a card trick... But, that statement seems way over the top.

PS: Though, this is one case where I would haply be proved wrong.

Versus learning from the first person you come across in real life? Or not at all because it's all too hard compared with searching the net?

IMO, there is a fair amount of. "Those who can do. Those who can't teach."

Sure, you can find some videos of people making a wooden clock online. It's much harder to find master craftsman making a watch. A few PHD students putting together an electric car vs. someone at GM actually designing a car. Home cook vs. Five Star Chef.

Granted, generally an amateur is fine. But, don't be surprised if there making several mistakes without noticing.

> IMO, there is a fair amount of. "Those who can do. Those who can't teach."

That applies to occupations, not to hobbies. I.e. those who can't find a proper job using their skill go on to teach that skill.

It does not however apply to the most valuable content - one made not for money, but out of love for the subject. A lot of masters in all occupations simply like to share. Our industry is probably the best example - it's almost entirely built upon masters who gave away their knowledge. But it happens in other industries too.

and these master would teach random people from the street about their craft?

in sincerely doubt that...

Clickspring. /r/artisanvideos

This is a valuable point. I no longer just ask questions of people: I try to be respectful of their time by trying hard myself to figure out the answer first.

The upside is that I learn a bunch of things. The downside is that I rarely have a question for anyone anymore. I'm either too lazy to dig into the question online to be sure that the question is worth asking, or I figure out the answer on my own.

Talking to someone who is a master at something is much more valuable than the internet... but the definition of a "stupid question" is becoming smarter.

Sure, but you severely limit your potential knowledge if you have to hunt down an expert in person to learn something (especially if you couldn't use the internet to find the expert!).

If you find yourself enthralled in a subject after learning about it on Wikipedia/YouTube you can still find an expert and learn even more. Being seconds away from being able to learn about anything in the world is extremely powerful.

You can still go meet that bartender, but now when you ask her about the technique you can explain what you've already tried, and will almost certainly get better knowledge from her.