Re:Those Who Can Do, Can’t Teach
by nickjj on Sunday August 26, 2018 @08:05AM
(#17845568)
I don't think this is always true.
Some of the best books and courses I've taken were from people who are experts at what they do. The keyword there is "are", not "were".
There's just an extra level of insight you can get from someone who is in the trenches doing real work, rather than trying to learn from someone who never really did the thing for real but happens to be an "armchair expert".
I think this is especially true for software development material and it's one of the reasons why I continue to do freelance work while creating video courses on the side. If I stopped consulting then I would become rusty in my craft if all I did was come up with course material.
An example of this would be DHH's books. Would you rather learn business from DHH (someone involved in a ridiculously successful business that operates today), or a college professor who likely never ran a really successful business but knows a ton of theory about it but also has 30 years of teaching experience?
I would argue DHH's advice in his books would be more valuable, even if he happens to be a less skilled teacher on paper.
Some of the best books and courses I've taken were from people who are experts at what they do. The keyword there is "are", not "were".
There's just an extra level of insight you can get from someone who is in the trenches doing real work, rather than trying to learn from someone who never really did the thing for real but happens to be an "armchair expert".
I think this is especially true for software development material and it's one of the reasons why I continue to do freelance work while creating video courses on the side. If I stopped consulting then I would become rusty in my craft if all I did was come up with course material.
An example of this would be DHH's books. Would you rather learn business from DHH (someone involved in a ridiculously successful business that operates today), or a college professor who likely never ran a really successful business but knows a ton of theory about it but also has 30 years of teaching experience?
I would argue DHH's advice in his books would be more valuable, even if he happens to be a less skilled teacher on paper.