There is a stereotype in which men refuse to use manuals for gadgets. I admit that I am the same. It is not pride but simply because I think a well-designed gizmo should not need a manual.
The other day I was on the point of sending a gadget back for fixing when I decided, as a last resort, to consult the manual. Needless to say, the gadget now works again.
Manuals seem to very rarely show any signs of intelligent design. I suspect that testing them out on a small cohort of equipment virgins and modifying the manual to maximize their ability to use those feathures that appeal to them would rapidly lead to user friendly sensible manuals rather than the usual stodgy encyclopaedias of all possible functions that only anoracks ever consider using.
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire
You're not saying they just evolved are you?Originally Posted by Pebble
I must be one of the rare breed of men that like a good manual, particularly when I'm servicing a car (wish I could find the one for our microwave as I can't for the life of me figure out how to change the clock!)
Bloody typical, they've gone back to metric without telling us.
Through pure laziness I will generally try to use whatever gadget/appliance without the manual. If I get stuck then I feel no shame in reading one though.
skb
"I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer" - Zaphod Beeblebrox
"This post may be edited to make it more wrong" - skb
"Ignorance is no basis for rewriting the laws of physics" - Pebble
"I am a scientist, with a beard to prove it. This makes me an authority on nothing other than the growing and maintenance of facial hair" - skb
Of course I use a manual - when all else fails...
If that doesn't work then the traditional ultimate solution may be applied: hit it with a hammer!
More seriously, I do tend to browse through at least the basic instructions, since I've found out the hard way (on many occasions) that it can save a great deal of time.
Anthony G Williams
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Yes, nearly always, unless it's for something simple, like a wife.
Back in the day when I worked for a small computer peripheral company we would regularly receive items back for repair or replacement which were not in any respect faulty. The engineer would respond by returning the item with a full technical report on the item, as tested, the problem having been identified as the user failing to install the device correctly. These reports invariably ended with the letters RTFM.
READ THE FUCKING MANUAL
apologies for those of a sensitive nature (like Bob)
Not just that they evolve, but they provide evidence enough to convince the most hardline christian fundamentalist of the existence of evolution. For such people reading the manual is no problem, they are use to reading large texts telling them precisely what to do in each hypothetical situation they might encounter.
With a little analysis, they will discover redundant instructions from previous generations of the current equipment - a bit like the appendix. The will see that all members of the same family of manuals share many characteristics, and have more in common than differences - even though describing different pieces of equipment. By studying generations of manuals they will understand how intricacy and complexity did not appear from no-where, generations of step by step changes are evident.
The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire
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