I think reading the manual gives you the concept of what something is capable of doing. No one is saying memorize all the commands and their flags.
But if you read all of them, maybe some day you’ll have a problem and realize, wait… I’ve seen something like this before. And you can then look up the specifics.
The main point I took away from your comment, and the thing that I think is missing in most of the other comments, is application of this concept to the real world. You nailed it. Always read the manual is a nice sound bite and something that can be flippantly thrown around to feel superior but that is terrible advice without any context.
What it should say is: Always refer to the manual.
Part of being a human is prioritizing tasks based on need and/or want. Another part is understanding your personal needs to accomplish a task. Reading a manual may provide value. Spending the 2 hours with family also provides value. If I choose the latter I can still refer to the manual when needed.
It drives me crazy when people double-down on some distinct thing (always read the manual) and then preach that it should always be the case or apply to all situations. There is a concept of diminishing returns and people should teach how to figure that out rather than blast out a good sound bite. Let people identify what works for them and be respectful of that. I’m not sure why that is such a hard concept for people.
I think reading the manual gives you the concept of what something is capable of doing. No one is saying memorize all the commands and their flags.
But if you read all of them, maybe some day you’ll have a problem and realize, wait… I’ve seen something like this before. And you can then look up the specifics.
We may not be disagreeing. I guess it depends what you mean by read.
The main point I took away from your comment, and the thing that I think is missing in most of the other comments, is application of this concept to the real world. You nailed it. Always read the manual is a nice sound bite and something that can be flippantly thrown around to feel superior but that is terrible advice without any context.
What it should say is: Always refer to the manual.
Part of being a human is prioritizing tasks based on need and/or want. Another part is understanding your personal needs to accomplish a task. Reading a manual may provide value. Spending the 2 hours with family also provides value. If I choose the latter I can still refer to the manual when needed.
It drives me crazy when people double-down on some distinct thing (always read the manual) and then preach that it should always be the case or apply to all situations. There is a concept of diminishing returns and people should teach how to figure that out rather than blast out a good sound bite. Let people identify what works for them and be respectful of that. I’m not sure why that is such a hard concept for people.