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I'm sorry, but I really dislike the "whatever works for you" sentiment. It's antithetical to the spirit of engineering / technical discussion, which are predica

I'm sorry, but I really dislike the "whatever works for you" sentiment. It's antithetical to the spirit of engineering / technical discussion, which are predicated on the idea that there are better and worse ways to do the thing in question. > As long as the OP got what he needed out of linear algebra, then that's what matters. I don't think I even agree with this. I might agree with > As long as the method of teaching linear algebra improves the mean educational outcome in a statistically significant fashion then that's what matters. But that's what Strang's getting at -- better and worse ways of teaching Linear Algebra. It's not the case that any method is OK just because it worked for some European dude on the internet with poorly concealed anti-American feelings (I'm from Europe, I'm allowed to say this :) ).

dntbnmpls 6y ago
> I'm sorry, but I really dislike the "whatever works for you" sentiment. It's your right. No need to apologize. > It's antithetical to the spirit of engineering / technical discussion, which are predicated on the idea that there are better and worse ways to do the thing in question. Sure. But that's the point. There are better ways ( as in plural ). Meaning there is more than one right way. > It's not the case that any method is OK Nowhere did I say any method is OK. You are building a strawman here. I didn't just write "Different strokes for different folks." I wrote "Different strokes for different folks. If it worked out for you that's all that matters." The key being "If it worked out for you that's all that matters." > because it worked for some European dude on the internet with poorly concealed anti-American feelings Nowhere did I sense any "anti-American" sentiment from OP. > (I'm from Europe, I'm allowed to say this :) So maybe it's a language issue. English as a second language is great but leaves open the possibility of misunderstanding. Honestly, I still don't know why you got so upset about such an innocuous comment. I think what we had here is a failure to communicate.

dntbnmpls 6y ago

> I'm sorry, but I really dislike the "whatever works for you" sentiment. It's your right. No need to apologize. > It's antithetical to the spirit of engineering / technical discussion, which are predicated on the idea that there are better and worse ways to do the thing in question. Sure. But that's the point. There are better ways ( as in plural ). Meaning there is more than one right way. > It's not the case that any method is OK Nowhere did I say any method is OK. You are building a strawman here. I didn't just write "Different strokes for different folks." I wrote "Different strokes for different folks. If it worked out for you that's all that matters." The key being "If it worked out for you that's all that matters." > because it worked for some European dude on the internet with poorly concealed anti-American feelings Nowhere did I sense any "anti-American" sentiment from OP. > (I'm from Europe, I'm allowed to say this :) So maybe it's a language issue. English as a second language is great but leaves open the possibility of misunderstanding. Honestly, I still don't know why you got so upset about such an innocuous comment. I think what we had here is a failure to communicate.