Some basic electronics and unlearning the wrong

[Conrad Hoffman]

IMO, electronic beginners and most everybody else can learn a few things from this site. In particular, read the sections on bad physics and bad electricity, as they may clarify some fuzzy concepts that were never really taught correctly, if at all.

[DF96]

He makes some good points, but I feel he overstates his case and I would hate to meet him at a party! When someone sets out to prove that everyone else is wrong it seldom makes a pretty sight.

[Pano]

Indeed! Some nice points, but many of them seem like semantics, not electrics.

[a.wayne]

Electrical semantics ..... ...........................

[Conrad Hoffman]

I drew an electrical semantic once, but got the words crossed up.

They admit there may be some mistakes on the site, but I find most of it to be valid, plus it keeps the brain working to examine their viewpoint vs what's often taught. The particular analogy I find most important is under capacitor misconceptions, where they debunk the "water bucket" nonsense that's often taught, and replace it with the 2-port captured diaphragm. That alone is worth the price of admission.

[Pano]

I liked the battery as water pump.

[wbeaty]

Originally Posted by Conrad Hoffman

They admit there may be some mistakes on the site, but I find most of it to be valid

Pick the worst mistake and email the author. (Or ...post it right here To avoid confusion, copy some actual text and *not* what you think it says.)

I'm constantly improving those articles. A few physicists have been over them to help fix up unclear sections. But outsiders often can see things that even the experts have missed.

[Ron E]

The guy's approach is what has people accusing him of nitpicking. In several cases he is accusing the teachers of stupidity and also saying that people taught these concepts will never learn science.

When I read these things, I am annoyed. To a certain extent, one must consider the audience when teaching things, a kindergardener will not be doing surface integrals anytime soon.... Rather than picking on general - and honestly mostly trivial - misconceptions, he should spend his energy creating a lesson plan or science book that is accessible and explains these concepts in a proper manner.

Perhaps he is being provocative to increase the chances that someone will be annoyed and come up with a better explanation

[Ron E]

Ha! I see the man himself is here. Joined today in fact.
I found quite early in life that if I questioned anyone about conceptual details, I would run out of answers quite quickly. That, and a few good teachers, helped to develop a healthy sense of skepticism about what was being taught and what teachers actually knew. Often a misconception such as the ones he claims are hurtful were the reason I looked further and increased my understanding on a topic. These are like doors opened along the path of education.

[wbeaty]

Originally Posted by Ron E

The guy's approach is what has people accusing him of nitpicking. In several cases he is accusing the teachers of stupidity and also saying that people taught these concepts will never learn science.

Be sure not to miss the section "Am I Just A Nitpicker?!"