FREE ADVICE: Perhaps very costly??

Hi guys,

I think all of us come here with a certain knowledge base and presumably this base grows as we learn from others and our own experience. I can only speak for myself but I find myself spending more time here than I should I have found that I will selectively step into a thread and I can't say how many times I have composed a response only to decide not to post. If one doesn't have the time to engage in a conversation, one should likely keep their trap shut

I try to qualify my comments as to fact or conjecture; opinion or objective reality. There are some forums I have intentionally avoided recently from partaking in as I don't feel right making comments that come to mind.

Useless background over.

I have seen questions asked and answered with that which I find incorrect, if not misleading. I have no doubt made errors and likely misled others myself but I beseech everyone to be careful with the statements we make, especially when there may be uncertainty or best guessing involved. We all want to help out eachother but when we arm someone with an untruth, that person must unlearn first to get back to the point where they started out. Then they can go forward , hopefully, with a new learned truth under their belt.

It also seems that the longer one is around CPF, the more likely one can become jaded with the "Groundhog Day" issue of seeing the same question arise for the Nth time and not bothering to comment again; leaving it to others for enlightenment. Since this forum is about light and enlightenment therof, it's a shame to see what one might consider as the blind leading the blind on ocassion.

"Can I hook up a Luxeon direct to a 12Volt Battery?"

"Sure Dude, + to red and - to Black"

"Hey, I burned up the LED!!"

"Bummer Dude, I knew you could hook it up but wasn't sure if it would work right "

Dang, this is another one of those posts that may never be seen. Jury is still out.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that we shouldn't let our desire to be helpful put us in a position where we are giving advise beyond our knowledge. You know, kind of what I'm doing here.

Oh well, this is the Cafe so I'll let this post go. I can always come back and delete the text and let any follow up posts or comments hang on their own merit, out of context. I can even change the title of the thread to really confuse folks. Ahhhh , the power of the post initiater.

- Don

jeez, with all you just said, it is with some trepidtation that i reply

you bring out some very valid points and i hope we all take heed. i personally try not to overstep my bounds of knowlege, but am doubtless guilty nonetheless.

Don...

Excellent message.

I underestand your many excellent points and perhaps I could elborate on the older members not posting because the questions have been asked for the 'upteenth' time.

Might this not be a good time to have a FAQ section? Technology is in a constant flux and people are constantly trying to push the limits but perhaps having FAQs would address the more mundane and routine questions.

personally i avoid even looking at threads that i've seen 10 times in different clothing. it's a shame, in my mind, that people will take 2 minutes to post a message but not 3 to do a search for answers (something that i, admittidly, have been guilty of in the past). besides the fact that CPF is just freakin huge these days and if you aren't on every few hours to check up on things it can take a _long_ time to play catch-up.

I agree with you, Don, that free advice is often worth what you paid for it, and bad advice is worse than none.

I'm a newbie to high-tech flashlights and haven't yet offered much in the way of advice on them (that's a good thing).

That doesn't mean I am a totally empty glass when it comes to having opinions. While those opinions and such aren't based on much experience with high-tech flashlights, they are based on over 25 years as an engineer, and over 55 years of general experience.

I try not to give advice where I don't have the knowledge to give it, and I try to put forth only opinions that have at least some aquaintence with facts from the real world.

I would hope that most others here do the same.

Papasan, I've probably asked questions that may have been asked before in CPF. In most cases this is not as a result of not trying to find answers, of not searching and reading, but a result of not being able to find those answers.

In my own postings I've mentioned twice that a FAQ, no, make that two FAQs, are needed here in CPF. One for beginners, one for the more experienced.

There is no doubt in my mind that even more FAQs, on various esoteric CPF subjects, would be helpful. Thing is, they don't write themselves.

I'm sure some of the "Old Timers" here in CPF know who the sources for much of the information in FAQs should be ...

Wait...so Ti does or does not conduct electricity well

A well spoken post indeed. There is more here than I am willing to engage in right now but one thing you say really strikes a cord with me:

Originally posted by McGizmo:
I try to qualify my comments as to fact or conjecture; opinion or objective reality.

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I wish that more people would do as you do. I think that just as important as having knowledge is understanding the limits and quality of the knowledge that you have. This is something that I feel is under appreciated in our society.

Very well said.

Wait a second. You're telling us we should evaluate information before trying it out?

The fun part here is that often two people will have a discussion about something, with different viewpoints, and they'll both be right AND contradictory. I remember one I was in about memory and NiCd's. Seems they do have memory, but it's small compared to another effect, which acts kinda like memory, but is caused by repeated overcharging or something like that. Sometimes I'll watch a discussion where I'm pretty sure both sides, while opposite, are incorrect. Oh well.

Don...thank you. [No further explanation necessary].

Dan

Hmmm. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to just tell me all this in a private email, Don? I'm mean it is a bit embarrassing to be accused in public like this.

Thanks Don, words are indeed powerful things and not only should we be careful what we 'say' but also in evaluating what we read.
And again I say thanks for your Wit, Wisdom and Generosity.

Darell I for one (and I'm sure one of many) appreciate your knowledge and LIGHTheartedness.
How do you type with those legs?

To keep from posting TOO much, I usually type with my nose, actually.

Seriously though, I know that I'm guilty of getting caught up in my enthusiasm and presenting my educated (hey, *sometimes* educated!) guesses and conjecture as FACT. This is a good wakeup call, for sure.

How did that Don guy get so smart?

It must be the company he keeps

Wow guys! I figured that I'd get one off the wall comment from the 4sale cow and then I could delete my mumbles and leaving him chewing his cud BTW, Darell, I really like your new sig line!

Anyway, thanks for the follow up comments and I do think this is a great place to interact and learn. There is just so much content; some timely and some timeless. How do we separate the wheat from the chaff, fact from folly and fun?

Good night and good morning friends across the globe

- Don

Darell-->
"Can I hook up a Luxeon direct to a 12Volt Battery?"

"Sure Dude, + to red and - to Black"

"Hey, I burned up the LED!!"

"Bummer Dude, I knew you could hook it up but wasn't sure if it would work right "

You??? No way!

No no. Don writes pure fiction there. You may be surprised to learn that I DO have an entirely off-topic 12V battery story from my Univ physics class though. Too late and too tired to type it now.... just know that it exists and that I'm still alive to remember it!

I hardly remember what 12V is about these days though...I'm gonna have two cars here that operate at almost 400V! Now THAT's something you'll want to use a dropping resistor with...

Don -> the new sig kudos goes to my little buddy Saaby. Pretty cool, huh? Beats the hell out of my original POS sig that I cobbled together in 27.6 seconds a year ago. It is still a work in progress. I just wanted to try it on and see how it fits.

OK, it is late.... oops, *early*! So I'd better start sleeping before my daughter is DONE sleeping.