Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Sat, 25 Jul 2009 10:10:30 -0700, none ""karls\"@(none)" wrote:

The first lesson is: "Don't take anything apart that you cannot put back
together". which is a subset of "Don't do what you cannot undo".

The phrase "Learn by Destroying" implies that one learns something
from the exercise. Apparently, you haven't learned much. Fear of
disassembly is what prevents ordinary mortals from becoming competent
service personnel. I've dived into many contrivances, where I had no
clue as to what I was getting into, much less any clue what I was
doing. Sometimes, an astute customer will ask me "Have you ever done
this before"? Usually, my answer is no. Lack of expertise and prior
experience doesn't bother me. If I understand how it works, or is
suppose to work, I can usually figure out what's broken. I learn as I
go along. Lack of experience has never stopped me. However, I were
worried about reassembly, I probably wouldn't try to fix anything.

These days, I take digital photos of the disassembly, and organize the
screws so that I can replace them in the original location. I will
admit to having some difficulties putting Humpty Dumpty back together
again, but it's rare. I recent near disaster was replacing the batter
on an Apple iPod Touch 1G. Getting it apart is hell. Putting it back
together is worse. I eventually had to clamp the case together
between two pieces of wood, and apply excessive force with a pair of
vice grips. The risk of breaking the glass was rather high. If I had
known what was involved, I'm not sure if I would have attempted the
job. However, now that I know how it works, it's no big deal.

Anyway, at age 12, one would not expect anyone to know their own
limitations. After watching Superman on TV, I tried flying.

This lesson requires a good deal of "lab time".

Sure. Experience is a good teacher. However, reading the manual,
looking at the schematic, and understanding how it works, will
dramatically reduce the "lab time".

Most of humanity seldom, if ever, learns this lesson.

That's why I'm still in business. If the GUM (great unwashed masses)
had any interest in getting their hands dirty by tearing into their
toys, I would be looking for something else to do. I suspect this is
because of the ancient patrician attitude that the upper classes
should not have to deal with manual labor.

Incidentally, one the secrets to staying in business is the ability to
fix anything. Customers call me with computah problems. However,
when I arrive, it's not unusual to get involved in other electronic
failures. Phone, various audio/visual devices, cell phones,
appliances, garage door openers, and such are common repairs. For a
while, I was making more money dealing with printer problems than
computah.

However, last week, I hit the undo button. The customer called with a
problem with their ancient Konica copier. 500,000 pages and just
about everything is worn out. I've kept it alive by just keeping it
clean for about 15 years. So, I made a big show of tearing it apart,
proclaiming unsolvable difficulties, overestimating the damage, and
then hitting the undo button by returning it to its original
malfunctional state.

Also, I was seriously considering starting a "black list" of
manufacturers and products that are unusually difficult to disassemble
and/or repair, or are otherwise designed to discourage repair. It
probably won't help make things repairable, but it will highlight the
problem. Top of the list are the iPhone and iPod Touch followed by
laptop manufacturers that use snap together plastic cases the
literally require breaking tabs to disassemble.

I'm glad to see that you agree with everything I said.