Re: Any DVD writing alternatives besides cdrecord-dvdpro?

From: Peter T. Breuer (ptb_at_lab.it.uc3m.es)
Date: 01/18/05 

Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 20:38:12 +0100

sam1967@hetnet.nl <sam1967@hetnet.nl> wrote:
> Peter T. Breuer wrote:
>
> I thought you'd kerplunked me ??????

I forgot to follow up the notice with the fact, apparently. Something
more important intervened - maybe I had to floss my cat.

> > sam1967@hetnet.nl <sam1967@hetnet.nl> wrote:
> >> Im sure he taught himself to read and write and do maths.
> >
> > For your information, yes I did. Of course I did!
>
> You had no teachers at all when you were learning to write and read ?

When I learned to read and write I was a baby - I don't recall it. I
recall having to read out loud in kindergarten and always being given
gold stars there. As to writing, I recall (my earliest recollection)
that we had to copy large letters (presumably also in kindergarten) and
that the teacher showed both copperplate and italic styles of lettering,
written between lines, for us to copy.

If you call that "teaching", I'd be surprised - I see nothing that
follows your precepts of "explain; give examples; ...". Instead I see
what I said one had to do: provide motivation, tools, feedback and
guidance and leave the student to _learn_ by experiment, forming
theories and testing them.

> I find that hard to believe as few people in the history of man have taught
> themsleves these fundamental skills unaided.
> But I will take it as an article of faith that you did.

Why?

> Who taught you to drive ?

Nobody. The first time I rode a motorbike, I bought it in a shop on the
Av. de la Grand Armee, behind the (i.e. a continuation of) the Champs
Elysees in Paris, when I was about 18. I drove it home to Montmartre.
The first roundabout I came to was the Arc de Triomphe. The french give
priority for the cars coming ON to the roundabout, and that roundabout
is about 5 lanes wide. I had to go round and round several times each
time edging nearer to the edge before I could get out, dodging the
incomings.

It didn't occur to me that one had to be "taught" before doing that.

Anyway, I am good with machines, quite naturally.

> If you decided you wanted to go hangliding would you be happy teaching
> yourself ?

Definitely. But I wouldn't. I have no intention whatsoever of flying in
a hang-glider, or falling out of a real airplane with a parachute. I
would most emphatically refuse if offered the "opportunity". Nor do I
want to travel under the Channel in a train, thank you.

> Would you fly a helicopter without any training from an expert ?

If I wanted to, yes. Those things you mentioned are big and dangerous
and don't offer opportunities for incremental learning, which makes them
poor examples, and I'd probably try a flight simulator and an autogyro
first if I wanted to fly one (which I do not). Nevertheless, since they
are machines built by human beings for human beings, and human beings
are not super intelligent nor endowed with special powers, I would be
quite confident of being able to. If it were built for aliens, I would
have very little expectation of being able to.

It seems to be that you have some kind of inferiority complex. I don't
know what it is, in detail, but I would rather you did not project it
onto others.

Peter

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