Re: A good book

Cimode wrote:
> I understand your concern. It is legitimate and I wished other people
> teaching would have such ethics. But acquiring knowledge should take
> in consideration the context in which it is provided.
>
> Given how cookbook approach technology biased education replaces
> academic education nowadays, people seeking education are
> preconditionned to reject naturally anything that tells them
> *exhaustively* the ugly face of things, even if this ugly face is
> truth.

You're absolutely correct that this is one of the many problems with what you quite rightly described as "cookbook approach technology biased education" (for example, when did "Oracle-biased SQL course" become synonymous with "database theory course", as it seems to have done in some universities ?). However, there is an even bigger problem. When students who have been through such courses are presented with material with a more theoretical bias, they tend to skim read it quickly, complain that they can't actually use this stuff (ie. they can't sit at the SQL*Plus prompt and type away) and dismiss it out of hand. As far as I am concerned the only way to defeat this tendency properly is to get university education back to providing a solid, theory-based foundation and away from providing vocational training courses.

> Which makes conciseness important to let truth stand a chance
> against cookbook approach in a matter of attractiveness to audiences.
> Conciseness comes by favoring quality over quantity at least in initial
> stages of learning. Once hooked, people should of course deepen their
> knowledge by mlore exhaustive reading.
>

If only.

> This kind of discussion gives me nostalgia to ancient greek times...;)
>

I think Fabian might suggest that he's already closer to walking barefoot expounding his views on databases than he'd like to be ... ;)  

• Tony