Things that make me worry and scratch my head!

[David Redszus]

The technical knowledge gap is getting wider and deeper.

When I went to technical high school (in Roman times), the school had 62 different shop courses:
from aircraft maintenance to welding.

Today the school has none. Some dumbass administrator decided that everyone should learn
computers and little else. Don't worry about your plumbing, electricity, heating, or math foundation.

Technically, the kids are as dumb as a box of nails.

Yet, I have recently reviewed several design reports written by Formula SAE college engineering students.
Some of their work is very advanced and way out in front of even most advanced racers.

So now we have some very smart kids and some very dumb kids coming down the pipe.
How will it all end, you ask? I don't know.

[54chevkiwi]

On another automotive site I participate on someone who has 4000 k in a aftermarket V8 block and likely some 2600 or more tied up in ported aftermarket heads just asked what size bolts are used to mount the oil filter adapter to the block.
Now this guy is going to use many of the same size bolts he needs to mount the accessories to the face of the block and heads, there 3/8s course .

How the heck could someone not be able to determine what is needed, I mean even if I was 16 years old and new to all of this I would be ashamed to post up such a question!

Is it just me or what?
I mean even if he knows there 3/8”, you can’t figure out they need to be course or how long is the max that they can be, Gezz!

I will add this, I would want to ride as a passenger in that car if this guy is doing all the wrenching at more then 25 miles per hour, lol!

My thing of that is, he has the internet. All of it. He can easily google it instead of using peoples time on an internet forum. Heck, them oil pump adaptors even come with the bolts!

[54chevkiwi]

....i dont mean to rag on someone that doesnt know something, we’re all in that boat..
I mean the absurdity of it.
The internet is a thing now. It is, we haveto deal with the fact its killed critical thinking skills and move past it,

If he doesnt know how to find out a bolt thread he could google how to and then hed know that info regardless of what you need bolts on..
Or he could google the bolt size and get his answer..
But, instead, lets go on a forum and ask the public and get a commitee of also non clued up people to help decide lol.

Maybe the guys lonely and just wanted to chat..

In machining school i saw a guy try drill a hole with the drill in reverse and wonder why it wouldnt work-for 20 minutes. That guy later dropped the class and told the instructor he doesnt think machining will get him girls like in the movie ‘the machinist’ afterall, so he didnt want to do it anymore..

[i82much]

your engine won’t blow up if you use the wrong bolts for your headers, alternator, power steering pump, etc. but it just might if you use the wrong bolts for your oil filter adapter ... and having an expensive block and heads is all the more reason to be careful, no?

[fabr]

No matter how silly it seemed the best thing to do is just answer it and be the hero of the day to him. No big deal.

[Joe-71]

Some folks just like to see their writing in print or on the site. If the truth be known, the original poster may not even own that expensive block or those heads, they are pipe dreams. He just wants to feel significant in some way. Joe-71

[rebelrouser]

The technical knowledge gap is getting wider and deeper.

When I went to technical high school (in Roman times), the school had 62 different shop courses:
from aircraft maintenance to welding.

Today the school has none. Some dumbass administrator decided that everyone should learn
computers and little else. Don't worry about your plumbing, electricity, heating, or math foundation.

Technically, the kids are as dumb as a box of nails.

Yet, I have recently reviewed several design reports written by Formula SAE college engineering students.
Some of their work is very advanced and way out in front of even most advanced racers.

So now we have some very smart kids and some very dumb kids coming down the pipe.
How will it all end, you ask? I don't know.

This is an old thread, but as a teacher at a vocational college for 26 years I must second Davids comments. When I was growing up in the 70's all my friends and I fixed up old cars to have something to drive. Kids today can't do that due to the complexity of modern vehicles. I taught at a post secondary college, and a lot of my students had already went through some kind of high school program. As the years went by my students had less and less general technical knowledge. I could never assume they knew anything about anything. For example with this thread, I taught 9 class hours on bolts, everything from thread pitch to how to remove a broken bolt. As my students progressed and started working in shop, one of the lessons they learned the hard way was how to not break off a bolt. And yes, I explained strategies, but they did not get it until they screwed something up. Again as a 16 year old kid I learned those lessons fixing up a 1949 willys station wagon that I put a 283 SBC in. As a teacher trying to train automotive technicians, I wanted to teach how to use scopes, and scan tools, diagnosis of CAN bus communication networks. But how do you do that when the student does not know a 3/8 bolt from an 8 millimeter bolt?

[Dave Koehler]

The help files for some software I designed is written as simply and as conversational as I could.
One fellow said it looked like I wrote it aimed at eighth grade level. My response was "there is a reason for that".

Sometimes I get to teach an oldster that is mostly stubborn about computers some basics. Copy, paste, etc. They are generally amazed.
These are the same people that have data loggers, grids etc. How does that work?

Once in a while I get someone that calls for an explanation that is clearly written. I then find out they can't read. Stunned I am.
These were successful racers at their level. How does that work?

[mag2555]

Who then fills out there card for them at the race track?

I guess there 12 year old son!

[Ks Fats]

A good case in point would be using the words "there" and "their" in correct context; most often it is a result of a hurried response to another statement. Let's not forget the responsibility of the home environment to teach to teach basic linguistic,computation and reading skills. I was blessed to have parents who taught all of those needs in spite of what would be considered poor socio/economic status. If those foundations are in place the student is equipped with skills that allow them to progress at a rate that is self driven. Growing up in a machine shop/repair environment taught me the importance of mathematics and physics as well as the psychomotor skills to earn a living. In retrospect, it was not the most lucrative career choice on my part but it did provide the financial freedom to pursue further studies in support of my occupation. I'll be the first to admit that the skills to write a complex computer program similar to what Dave, Larry and others on here have done are lacking and at 75 will not be forthcoming. " Experience is the hardest teacher; it gives you the test first and then delivers the lesson" is my favorite quote; skill sets that are "learned" are most often difficult to "teach". "Learning" is a complex issue that I wish I had an answer to but (as Rebel has said) fundamentals have to be in place for it happen. Sorry guys, end of a senior rant!

[Dave Koehler]

FWIW the computer program add on skill came about out of frustration. I tried to farm it out to some nerds at the university.
I knew where to begin and how the results should be but they were stymied by whatever they had learned up to that date.
Soooo, it took a year of hunt and peck late nights to get it done. Like all things race I became obsessed with it.
Damned neared killed my marriage but I learned some new things.
Wife even contributed when I was grumbling about some math that refused to cooperate. She asked what happens if you work it backwards?
Sounds silly on the face of it but it opened the door to a solution.

It's all a journey. Five years ago at age 67 I bought a CNC mill.
Push a button they said. It will be fun they said.
I am a decent machinist but I have to tell you I totally, absolutely, completely butchered a lot of AL and broke a lot of expensive tooling that first year. Crash became my middle name.
Not to mention learning cad/cam.
What did I get my self into this time? More money going out than coming in just like a race car. Naturally I added features and gadgets to the mill.

The cause is just. The execution certainly needed time to mature. Will this ever cover it's own cost based on my age? Ehhh, maybe.
The important thing is I can now make things in house that I need to complete custom MFI jobs.
A sideline plus is I also made a sweet cutting board for the wife this Xmas. Engraved and everything. Bonus points were accrued.
I still hate wood and it would have been easier on a dedicated cnc router. I am still trying to get it all vacuumed up.

[In-Tech]

Wife even contributed when I was grumbling about some math that refused to cooperate. She asked what happens if you work it backwards?
Sounds silly on the face of it but it opened the door to a solution.

I was extremely frustrated and sad when I was trying to learn 8 bit assembly, I had read everything I could and had basically resigned to being a dumbass. Then seeing my frustration, a bud sent me a snippet of code and told me to disassemble it and tell him what it did. So, I did and he verified, it was like a light switch was turned on A couple hours later I sent him a snippet, shortly thereafter my phone rings and he says "Do you know what you've just done?" umm, yessir. We both laughed hysterically

[rfoll]

Years back when I used to be a fleet mechanic I had a driver pull in with a Kenworth powered by a Caterpillar C10. The guy hops out, looks me in the eyes dead serious and states "Hey it's running kind of rough I think it needs new spark plugs". I forget what the actual issue was but it sure as hell wasn't spark plugs! I knew most of the drivers they hired at this company were special but some were certainly more special than others... It was no wonder the truck shop was always so busy, all the drivers ever did was tear up the equipment and expect us to take care of the destruction. I don't miss that job one bit!

This reminds me of something that is always with us. I
It's not necessary to know how a car works to drive one, and not necessary to know how a computer works to use it. In both cases a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.

[agertz1]

More basically, I'm genuinely concerned about the state of our society. I just saw a high schooler walking there in his pajamas ! What high school
and parent(s), thinks this is ok ? Shouldn't everyone know how write, do math without a calculator or know which end of a screwdriver to hold ?
Art.

[Dave Koehler]

Years back when I used to be a fleet mechanic I had a driver pull in with a Kenworth powered by a Caterpillar C10. The guy hops out, looks me in the eyes dead serious and states "Hey it's running kind of rough I think it needs new spark plugs". I forget what the actual issue was but it sure as hell wasn't spark plugs! I knew most of the drivers they hired at this company were special but some were certainly more special than others... It was no wonder the truck shop was always so busy, all the drivers ever did was tear up the equipment and expect us to take care of the destruction. I don't miss that job one bit!

This reminds me of something that is always with us. I
It's not necessary to know how a car works to drive one, and not necessary to know how a computer works to use it. In both cases a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.

Sounds like what I tried to teach my kids. You do not have to know everything BUT you do need to know where to find the answer.