Learning Curve

Rob Keeble

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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Well this aint something new. But I am finally beginning to accept it as a "fait accompli' in life. For my entire life i have denied its existence and fought the rule that you WILL go through a learning curve when you tackle something new.

Its been the bugbear of my life and i have tried over and over again to beat the learning curve but unless you were right up at the front of the queue when the brains were dished out, seems to me no matter what it is you Will go through the curve to acquire the know how.

I thought i would post this admission so others, woodworkers or not can ponder for a moment and decide how they going to tackle something new they want to learn and decide if they first going to have a go find they don't succeed then give up or going to accept that it requires persistent determined plodding in the direction you wish to go in.

I always equate this to kinda flying at different levels up a staircase. You go at it for a while and never seem to make progress. Then you get to the next level suddenly and a few things click into place. Then it seems forever before you conquer the next level and suddenly the repeat euphoria of getting through the clouds. and so on until you reach the level of competence that satisfies your needs.

Yeah there are times one can cheat a step in reality you just go up to that step very fast and don't notice the curve involved. Other times it seems to take forever and really can test ones determination and tenacity to stay the course. But when you do it enough you finally get used to the process.

Yeah there is nothing new here for most of us, and its not something i have suddenly discovered, but boy the delight of getting to a point where you "grasp" or understand something is sweet and when one gets to the point where one can execute that learning well that's the icing on the cake.

For most of us we have been through this in a number of facets of our life, and that helps when it comes to having the drive to tackle something new, knowing we can do anything we want if we put our minds to it like we have done in the past.

But it sure dont get easier as you get older. I was always sold on this concept that we only use a tiny portion of our brains. But now i am beginning to think they fill up and dont wish to hold more that easily.

I still think the greatest revelation i had in woodworking has been learning to sharpen and what sharp means. Sure its an old bone thats been chewed over so many times. But its key to every tool that needs to cut.

So whats been your biggest revelation and learning curve you have tackled and conquered in woodworking. Share a few it might just help keep someone thats on the fence going at it and succeeding.

My latest revelation that had me post this is not woodworking related but it took me back to woodworking, and i was thinking back to a post Toni in Spain did about hand cutting a dovetail every day for a period to get the hang of cutting dovetails properly.

If we can teach a kid this "learning curve aspect" in life I think many would be way better off. My own sons favorite words are "i know i know" when in fact he really does not and has only really followed what is being explained. At that point i hand him the tool and say ok show me. :rofl: thats when the fun begins. :rofl:

Whats that old saying, "you never too old to learn".:) What should go with this post is the aspect of not being to proud to ask a question. Still my weakness.:(:eek:
 
To fast forward through the learning curve, teach. Trust me, your students will make mistakes you never thought possible! Definitively will make you think in terms of cause and effect.

Here is another thought to add to Rob's Ramblings.

What is our fascination with perfection? We were never created to be perfect. But smelling the roses along the way means we are enjoying the journey. Like as not, mistakes are often the things we laugh most about later in life.
 
Specifically for woodworking - everything is a chisel!

Specifically I recently realized that using the gouge to cut the inside of spoon bowls is the exact same thing as cutting a mortise with a mortising chisel except I'm taking slightly shallower and more slicing cuts but the mechanics are exactly the same. Most of the cuts I make on the lathe are functionally the equivalent of "paring" cuts with flatwork and so on. Sounds silly but sort of changed how I approached a lot of tasks (how would a chisel want to cut here .. hrmmm) - even true on the table saw :D
 
Quick Story Rob. When I was in college my 1st class in painting 101 , Alan Marsh who because a close friend and mentor started out the class by saying we learn through our mistakes. I think that was the only thing I heard him say the rest of the class. The next class we started painting a still. I was painting up a storm , I mean my brush was Smoken ! Alan saw this and from across the room he said: David , Yes sir [ I just got out of the army ] I popped up from behind the canvas.. Alan; You need to slow down , your making to many mistakes. Alan had walk behind me and didn't say anything till he was at the safety of some distance. I spoke up quickly: Alan you said at the 1st class that we learn from our mistakes and since I am so far behind in getting into art I need to make as many mistakes as I can. Well the class erupted in LOL
That day I cut my learning a new tail. Gaining a great friend. It was like he had a look on his face of ; We haven't had that spirit here since 1964......

Through my carrier my learning curve has been on the fast track. I use to buy my paint for faux and murals when I was a house painter from this Danish guy Jen's. Who also because good friends. Jen's once told me I was one of the only guys he knew that could take any material and master it in the shortest time of any one he ever meet.

Good mentors can be great encouragement for young up starts.
 
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To fast forward through the learning curve, teach. Trust me, your students will make mistakes you never thought possible! Definitively will make you think in terms of cause and effect.

Here is another thought to add to Rob's Ramblings.

What is our fascination with perfection? We were never created to be perfect. But smelling the roses along the way means we are enjoying the journey. Like as not, mistakes are often the things we laugh most about later in life.

so that is why my folks laugh when i drop by????

and dave, well i need to find a mentor soon i am running out of time and dont know of any close by..
 
@Carol you make an excellent point about perfection.

I have asked this question silently over and over. I cannot help but think the tool marketeers have had a hand in creating some of it.

Your point reminded me of how satisfied I was as a kid building a soap box car with scraps of wood, bent rusted nails drawn and straightened from other scrapwood, wheels pulled from old baby buggies found in scrap piles, bits of joined old rope yet friends and I got incredible delight and enjoyment from them. We got just as sad though when we smashed into things and the cart broke. But we knew a few nails and some more wood and presto its fixed.

In my view the emphasis on perfection prevents even attempting the learning of new ( whatever).
Same goes for "i cannot do xyz because i dont have abc tool"




sent from s4
 
So ahem Dave you need to do a lot more posting here on FWW so you can practice your mistakes in spelling & creating completely different words than you meant to.
I may be misunderstanding the tail????? Please understand this is all in the spirit of fun
Quick Story Rob. When I was in college my 1st class in painting 101 , Alan Marsh who ( because ) a close friend and mentor started out the class by saying we learn through our mistakes. I think that was the only thing I heard him say the rest of the class. The next class we started painting a still. I was painting up a storm , I mean my brush was Smoken ! Alan saw this and from across the room he said: David , Yes sir [ I just got out of the army ] I popped up from behind the canvas.. Alan; You need to slow down , your making to many mistakes. Alan had walk behind me and didn't say anything till he was at the safety of some distance. I spoke up quickly: Alan you said at the 1st class that we learn from our mistakes and since I am so far behind in getting into art I need to make as many mistakes as I can. Well the class erupted in LOL
That day I cut my learning a new (?tail?) . Gaining a great friend. It was like he had a look on his face of ; We haven't had that spirit here since 1964......

Through my (carrier) my learning curve has been on the fast track. I use to buy my paint for faux and murals when I was a house painter from this Danish guy Jen's. Who also (because) good friends. Jen's once told me I was one of the only guys he knew that could take any material and master it in the shortest time of any one he ever meet.

Good mentors can be great encouragement for young up starts.
 
Larry at this point you tuening the table and mentoring a young guy.

dave i dont guess i git it??/ i dont see me trying to teach when i dont have any crediatials to do so.. there are alot more folk better for the job.. did see some interst in a great nephew but he didt ask and i only see him maybe once a year at the most and he is only 10 miles away.. so the ole adage of lead to water but cant make them drink..
 
Larry, you've mentored many more people than you might imagine, and a lot of it has been while you're sitting in front of your keyboard. ;)
 
The more I learn, the more I learn how little I know. -- Socrates

The more you know, the less you understand. -- Lao-Tse

Striving for perfection is what makes us to learn, otherwise we would never improve or learn anything, the more we know the farther away the goal moves and the wider the scope of our knowlege gets. Without that curiosity we woulnd't have evolved to what we are now, contrary to what G.B. Shaw mentions below. I find myself attempting more complex carvings on each subsequent one I make ( maybe I'm some sort of masochist) and curiously enough I do not realize it until I am in the middle of it and have to overcome the difficulties that arise. I guess that for the same reason I tend to loose interest once I see that I've fulfilled the challenge, so I have to take as new challenge the fact of finishing them.
If we do not bother to try, we will never know and we will never grow. Some people are curious, some are not, some people take challenges others don't'; and that doesn't make either ones better than the other. To finish I'd say that I do not share Mr. Shaw affirmation; because for the same token I could say that knowing that someday I will die I'd rather put a blanket on the floor and get to sleep until I get tired of it.
This a theme I'd like to talk about in person in any of our gatherings.

The more you learn, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why bother to learn? -- George Bernard Shaw
 
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