theory and practice: ying and yang

He quotes L. da Vinci:

"Those who are enamored of practice without theory are like
a pilot who goes into a ship without rudder or compass and never has any certainty where he is going. Practice should always be based upon a sound knowledge of theory."

Of course, he fails to mention that the converse is also true. It is also interesting to note that Date admits that the RM is not well understood, and offers a number of reasons:

1. beginners dont understand it
2. instructors dont understand it
3. SQL is taught rather than the model

IMO theory and practice are two sides of the one coin, two views into the one reality.

Here are an assemblage of different quotes to that effect, and in these quotes is it clear to see that there may be other reasons (other than Date's 3 above) that the RM (theory) is not widely understood.

"Theory without practice is empty;

 Practice without theory is blind."
--Immanual Kant

"Practice without Theory is blind,

Theory without practice is sterile"
--- Karl Marx

"Theory without practice is a bird that never lands.
Practice without theory is a bird that never flies." --- ????

"Practice without theory is dangerous,

but theory without practice is madness". ---Mao-Tse-Tung

"Theory without practice is for geniuses,
practice without theory is for fools and rogues, but for the majority of educators the intimate and unbreakable union of both is necessary. " ---(Langeveld quoting Gunning, 1979,
cited in Van Manen 1996)

"Theory without practice is useless;

 practice without theory is impossible." ----- ????

"Theory without practice is blind,

 practice without theory is death"
--- Lubetkin

"Theory with practice is empty speculation.
Theory must be tested against practice.
Theory provides terminology and methodologies for ananlysing practice, but does not guarantee good practice"
----- ????

"Theory without practice is as lifeless
as practice without theory is thoughtless." ----- Whitehead ???

Pete Brown
Falls Creek
Oz
www.mountainman.com.au Received on Wed May 25 2005 - 10:19:10 CEST