Got to agree with whatdoiknow1 here. Why on earth should I know how to change oil for my car?

How many NAND gates are needed to construct a single flip-flop? I suppose most people don’t know about that. Yet they use computers everyday.

That’s not a very good analogy. I don’t need to know anything about NAND gates to use or even maintain and troubleshoot a computer. You do need to know something about changing your oil—like the fact that it needs to be done every few months—in order to keep your car running.

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I promise I’m not spamming, I’ve had an account here for a while, but this topic strikes a nerve with me, and you’re right that they do it on purpose:
see http://www.johntaylorgatto.com/

It’s mostly an American thing (no I’m not channeling jurisb). That is, the inability and unwillingness to learn for one’s self how to do even the simplest things.

The education system is very ineffective in terms of logical thinking. The schools are teaching in the wrong way. They always give the students formula and shortcuts, which are an over-simplification of the truth. They never encouraged students to explore further.

But it’s very hard to change that. I even suspected that the government want it that way. Mindless people are easier to rule.

In the long run, those without decent logical skills will be filtered out. In peaceful times, the disparity between the rich and the poor will grow. To a point it will adversely effect the reproduction of the poor(those logic-challenged). During a war, the poor ones will be sent to the front line first. The son of a president would just serve at home and be a president later. And he would send more patriotic poor people to war.

The problem I have is not with lack of expertise, but the manner in which the questions are asked. Bad grammar, spelling and no evidence of prior research indicates that you have an expectation that someone else will do everything for you. Frankly, it is disrespectful.

Yes, we should all know how to change a tire given the possibility of emergency situations. I learned the hard way when I was 17. But then we should also all know CPR, all be able to perform the Heimlich maneuver, all know how to get viruses off our computers, all be able to provide in 100 words or less the primary and secondary causes of the First World War, etc, etc.

No one is glorifying willful ignorance, but to most people a car is a tool, and a prosaic one at that. They neither want to know nor need to know much beyond the day-to-day operation of a vehicle, and that’s probably how it should be. I have only the most rudimentary grasp of how my microwave works, why one of my cats occasionally vomits after eating, or how double-entry book-keeping is performed, yet few would pillory me for my lack of expertise.

How many NAND gates are needed to construct a single flip-flop? I suppose most people don’t know about that. Yet they use computers everyday.

For me, I expect a car that needs simple maintenance and refueling only. It’s the car makers job to worry about the details. It a certain car maker cannot, I can always find someone who can.

Starting with the last… criticizing K12 educators for lower technical literacy, without understanding the educational system, is a bit like walking up to the parts counter and demanding the part that will stop your car from overheating. “Which part?” “I don’t know, you’re the parts expert, I just know what’s wrong.” Why are vo-tech programs cut? As fewer parents understand or value vo-tech programs, school administrators respond by putting their limited dollars behind programs that parents value AND that NCLB requires. Those are reading, math, and science. How many parents of K12 students do you know who are demanding that their children be prepared for careers as car mechanics? Don’t blame Superintendent Chalmers.

Of course, NCLB is problematic, an attempt by Congress to adjust the valves of the educational car without reading the manual. An emphasis on standardized tests, on facts without application… well, that’s a reason why specialists and users can’t get along. Thanks to google everyone has access to facts, but as always few take the time to understand underlying complex systems. That’s true whether it’s an educational system, computer operating system, or a car’s cooling system.

But it’s easy to make a difference. Volunteer at your local high school. Help the chemistry department set up a biodiesel lab and work with students to convert a car to B100. Or teach a 5th grader how circuits work using a digital multimeter and the family car.

As an IT guy who works with a Tool & Die shop, I hear a universal complaint: Today’s educators refuse to even suggest to students with decent math/analytic skills a field where they may get their hands dirty.

Worse, Car mechanics and Tool/Die makers can command better career pay than many basket weaving degree career paths.

I find it interesting how the people at the parts counter can become so frustrated even if I’m trying my best at being clear. I once had the following exchange with a lady at the local parts depot here:

Me: Hi can I get a set of HT leads?
her: Sure. What year, make, and model?
Me: ‘89 Saab 900
her: 900 what, 900cc?
me: no, Saab 900
her: (yelling) 900 WHAT?!!
me: That’s the model, Saab 900.
her: (pauses for 30 seconds with disgusted look on face then types at keyboard furiously) Oh a Saab 900! turbo or Non?
me: Jesus lady, non.

I find the Saab central forums to be very patient and non-judgmental even towards the people who continually post “Can I turbo my NA?” instead of searching. The search function is genius, I’ve only had to start a topic once.

There are a few forums for cars of that ilk. The AudiWorld TT forum that I frequent is pretty well behaved for the most part. And the vwdiesel.net forums are pretty well behaved as well.

I once listened to a guy tell me he had the new truck with the hemi diesel. He also had a personal helicopter that he liked to fly, but didn’t know what make or model. The strangest thing about the whole situation is that he had actual friends who came with him to the party.

I can’t believe the number of jackasses who post idiotic questions and cop an attitude with us for not doing our jobs (which we get no paycheck for) or referring them to the “search” button. Problem is, people want easy answers…and that’s gone once the factory warranty expires.

BUT…the perk is once the forum/website matures, you archive the hot topics. Then you can tell them to use the search feature…and say things like “RTFM” and “STFU NOOB” with a clean conscience. If they want the answer, they can dig it up. Otherwise, tough luck.

First, get a REALLY good cutting torch…

I understand totally what you wrote – I personally have been in the computer and network fields my entire career and, much like cars, while I don’t expect every user to know the ins and outs of each function, if you are going to use a product like a car or computer, you MUST have an operating knowledge in order to avoid a disaster.
Before my parents let me take a car out on my own, especially with a freshly minted license, I had to know the basics like checking and adding fuel, air in the tires, warning lights, and the number of points Pennsylvania allows before you and a judge have a face-to-face meeting! We also had to know some more advanced items like checking and adding oil and other fluids and how to change a tire. To this day, I still do some of my own maintenance and prep a car for a long trip. I guess it goes back to parenting and the belief that driving a car isn’t a right at all – it’s a huge responsibility.
I’m not an expert in medicine but I know when to visit the doctor. I’m not an expert in auto repairs and I know when to take it to the shop instead of typing “hey dckhd y cant i put 20s on a 92 civvvvick.”

Brilliant!

This editorial reminds me of a professor in college. He’d start the semester by saying “Now class, always remember there are no stupid questions. However, that is not to be taken as a challenge.”

When I started working on my own cars (simple stuff – plugs/brakes/wheels) my wife was a bit nervous – the brakes and changing from winter/summer and back each year seemed to cause her the most concern, until I demonstrated how a torque wrench worked, then let her see how her dealer put tires on her truck. I still find the process a bit of a pain, since it’s usually a manual process in the cold, having left it ’till the first snow flies… I like to use an 18v drill /w a socket adapter to gently spin the bolts until the torque wrench is required, but can rarely find my socket adapters – and yes I now have 3 or 4 of them!

“How much for an engine for a ‘98?”
“What make and model is the car?”
[Annoyed] “A ‘98 Honda.”
“What model of Honda is it?”
[Exasperated] “A four door.”

Although I had one conversation where I learned that Toyota didn’t name their pickup trucks “tacomas” until ‘96 or so.
“Do you have motors for an ‘87 Toyota Pickup?”
“What model pickup?”
“…the Pickup.”

What is potentially worse than someone who lacks (what we consider) basic automotive knowledge who think they know what they’re talking about. I remember overhearing a conversation where someone was blabbing on and on about his “docky” (DOHC) engine had so much more response than any “socky” (SOHC) engine he’d ever had in a car. I should have reminded him to change his muffler bearings and switch to a synthetic blinker fluid.

The theory behind the desmodromic valve action is that it should neatly avoid the problems of valve bounce at high rpm in conventional set-ups when the spring tension cannot quite overcome the increasing momentum of the fast moving valve adequately to close it and create an effective seal. This should allow improved reliability and sustainable power at a higher rpm ceiling.

On the downside, the desmodromic mechanism is slightly more complex and therefore more expensive to produce, and it is critically important that it is kept in very good adjustment to work effectively.

Ducati motorcycles used the concept widely in their singles and V-twin motors though it never really caught on broadly with many other manufacturers. My guess would be that other advances in valve and cylinder head technology solved provided solutions to the valve-bounce in other ways that were simpler to employ? Multi-valve heads, DOHC configurations and metallurgical developments brought smaller and lighter valves and valve-gear so super-high rpm performance could be achieved with conventional valve springs – so the desmodromic system was presumably considered redundant by most engine makers?

Interestingly – I believe that Ducati used to make and sell conventional valve-spring versions of their 250-350-450 cc singles alongside the desmodromic valve-operated versions and as far as I can remember there was no substantial difference in the performance between the two? Having said that – Ducati have stuck with the system in their motorcycles and have had great success with it.