How To Spot a B.S. Guru.

Hi Simon,

> --------------
> Those who can sell - sell.
> Those who can't sell - teach how to sell.
> Those who can't teach how to sell - devise
> methods of teaching how to sell.
> --Anonymous

Yes, I'd heard of this too, though I knew the shorter version, which goes....

Those who can, do
Those who can't, teach.

Fortunately, though, it ain't completely true (or most of us would probably be in trouble, since who would teach us)?

I mean, it may be true for some people, but fortunately there are many who can both TEACH and DO as well....

I realized that a lot of people really enjoy teaching, and that's why they teach. It's a pleasure to them to share their knowledge, even if they don't have to do it to make a living....

Thank goodness. :)

One of the first things I turn to if I'm considering buying a book in a bookstore is the part that's "about the author." I want to see what their experience is. Fortunately, some great people have written excellent books.... :)

I think a great example of this is the late physicist Richard Feynman. For those who never heard of him, he's a Nobel Prizewinner in physics for co-discovering something called quantum electrodynamics.

Anyhow, back to Feynman. He loved to teach. But you couldn't accuse him of not being able to DO! In fact, most would say he was one of the most brilliant physicists of the 20th century. And he was a brilliant teacher as well.

Feynman talks about how teaching stimulates him. It forces him to rethink things through, to go over what you know again, and know it even better. The questions you get from students are stimulating too, since they may suggest ways of thinking about things that you never thought before.

I remember how, in one of his books, Feynman pities those who don't teach.... He meant specifically people like Einstein. Einstein spent most of his life working at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey, where he didn't have to teach. All he had to do was research.

Feynman mentioned how he'd HATE that. He'd miss all the stimulation he'd get by teaching.

Well, there's an alternative point of view.... :)

But of course, you shouldn't teach unless you first know it yourself, which was probably your main point, right Simon? :) I don't believe in "faking" your way through, I think people will see through you sooner or later if you do that. So personally, I don't do it.

But teaching what you DO know? I'm all for it! :)

- Dien Rice