On Thursday, 8 June 2017 17:54:58 UTC+1, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Thu, 8 Jun 2017 04:46:41 -0700 (PDT), tabbypurr wrote:

Phil is always right. No exceptions.

Well, in my experience on Usenet for more years than I care to admit,
Phil is far more often correct than mistaken. I vaguely recall one
minor item where I caught a mistake, but most other times, he either
had the correct answer, or the correct approach to producing an
answer. I could only dream that my batting average is as good as his.

I'm on Usenet to learn. If learning requires tolerating some abuse,
I'm fully prepared to accept (and deliver) some. It's much like
learning any skill that requires dedication and practice (martial
arts, musical instruments, auto repair, etc). The good mentors and
instructors are generally quite abusive to the typical student telling
them they are worthless fumbling fools, incapable of mastering even
the basics, and so on. To many, that's sufficient for them to run
screaming in horror, or complaining bitterly to others in hope of
gathering support. To the few that actually want to learn, such abuse
is an incentive to try harder, learn better, practice more, and
demonstrate to the mentor or instructor that they are worthy.

Pick your own path to enlightenment and try not to bite the hand that
feeds you knowledge.

Yes he gets things right. He also gets them wrong and makes a real spectacle of himself. The madness comes out. Regularly. I try to learn from everyone, but I wouldn't want to work with him.


NT