Delta_G:
Rule: Themore clueless the poster is about how to achieve their goals, the higher the likelihood that it is top secret and they plan on getting a patent out of it once we figure it out for them.
My favorites are the ones who have some mystery "highly advanced" software that will solve all the problems we see with the project but at the same time can't seem to construct a simple if statement or even the logic behind it.
I know the post that triggered this. I was in the pricess of replying when the OP said "I won't show you all my code."
But I don't think an eminent lawyer has the same influence on the law as an eminent scientist has over science. In my time in the civil service I probably had more influence on the law than lawyers had.
PaulMurrayCbr:
The law of assignment: any poster desperately needing immediate help is invariably a student with a deadline.
Here are some corollaries to that Law:
Division of Response: some will help with what they know, some will ask questions, some will pose alternate puzzles that that lead to the solution, and some will not respond.
Continuity of Guidance: I have observed that when when one 'guru' is helping a supplicant - who is actually learning - other gurus hang back unless something important must be added.
Help Shopping: Most supplicants with a single post will not return, no matter how many replies are given.
Did we already say:
"Accurate and complete web tutorials will be overlooked as people flock to inaccurate, obsolete, never-quite-worked pages that linger on..." (and then people will post "I'm exactly following but I can't get it to work!")
Henry_Best:
The Dunning-Kruger effect explains that.
Or it's opposite.
People around me consider me smart. The often tell me so. So often in fact, that I suspect that I am actually retarded, and that some hidden protector has gone ahead of me and told them to say that. Humoring me for some reason ... keep me working for a ridiculously low wage?, or providing an outlet for their cruel humor?, or is it that every lab needs a screamer? ... I dunno.
I have always found it awe-inspiring to see someone who is supremely good at something - Eric Clapton playing guitar, Jackie Stewart or Ari Vatanen driving a car.
A guy I worked with had paid a deposit for a new guitar when he was young. He heard a Jose Feliciano LP and canceled his order.
One thing I have learned is that it is very unhelpful to say "it's easy" to someone who is struggling with a problem. It seems to be very important to empathize with their difficulty.
Robin2:
...who is supremely good at something - Eric Clapton playing guitar...
In Mr. Clapton's case playing guitar is just one thing he is supremely good at.
Henry_Best:
The Dunning-Kruger effect explains that.
In a previous life I had the displeasure of working with a paid "professional" programmer who was convinced beyond any doubt that once his source code compiled it was bug free. We were significantly more productive after he left the team. Instead of having to do our work and clean up his refuse we only had to do our work. He was a case study in Dunning-Kruger. (He was also extremely sexist. Wowsers that dude was annoying.)
People around me consider me smart. The often tell me so. So often in fact, that I suspect that I am actually retarded, and that some hidden protector has gone ahead of me and told them to say that. Humoring me for some reason ... keep me working for a ridiculously low wage?, or providing an outlet for their cruel humor?, or is it that every lab needs a screamer? ... I dunno.
Whoa. I've got that same feeling. People are amazed at my brilliance but with my low self esteem and literal belief that "if I can do it, anyone can" (a very literal definition of self esteem is feeling like what you do is unique), I take it as being patronized. As if their compliments were of the sort you hand out at the Special Olympics. I have sincerely asked someone I trusted if I'm actually retarded and people are going out of their way to be courteous.
They told me no.
I don't trust them anymore.
