Doug, I have no clue who is right in this matter. But I can tell you
that 30 years ago I was in a mechanical engineering class at Lehigh Univ.,
and my professor taught me one thing well (at least it's the only thing I
can remember from his class): "this field will humble all who enter it." He
was right, I've been humbled plenty, and everyone I've worked with has done
likewise at some point. 100 things in a row will go perfectly, and then a
"Challenger" happens and brings us all back down to earth.
Regarding the ongoing rift here - talented people will always find
something to disagree about, but I think sometimes uncontrolled-for
variables are the culprit lurking behind differentiated conclusions. I
suspect that happens all too often here, and the phenomenon is only
exasperated by the limited medium of NG posting (e.g., consider the number
of times a variant of the phrase "that's not what I said, or meant" has been
used here). In other words, it is possible for two people to argue a point
for which THEY ARE BOTH CORRECT but fail to communicate that their
experimental conditions are not identical.
Navigator obviously appreciates the Socratic approach and I believe he
is well-intended. At times he appears arrogant (IMHO) only because we can't
see or hear him as his progression of questions unfold. The questions may
come off as intellectual snares for which one becomes suspicious - thusly,
the stage is set for confrontation. Defensive postures are assumed, and the
rest is a predictable downhill slide. Unfortunately, at other times he seems
to prefer the bumble-bee approach, in which he pollinates a cross-section of
posts with sarcasm and sometimes brutal criticism. Some deserve this but
some do not. But I've also seen how far he will go to help a sailor with
less experience than he; just as you have done! It is with those positive
experiences in mind that I post this missive.
The reason I take long breaks from posting here (I still lurk often and
have been reading/posting here for about 4-5 years) is that I've found that
I don't like serious confrontation in this particular forum. There is too
much that can go wrong in the communication process and my carpal tunnel is
not conducive to typed tit-for-tat. It's a blast to watch others "go at it"
for fun but it's not fun to watch even virtual friends get hurt. Not that
anyone asked for my opinion, but there it is.
Scout


"DSK" wrote
Cool Shakespeare chops, Scout! Anyway, MC (or Navvie as some call him)
doesn't have friends, a true pedant doesn't want or need them.