From: amy@lloyd.Camex.COM (Amy Lindsay)
Subject: Re: Any tips for a pilot-to-be?
Summary: Taking criticism is something to learn, too.
Organization: Camex Inc., Boston MA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 15:35:25 EST

I think the first posting by Hoi Chong has expired on my machine, but
I would like to point out that there's a BIG difference between
getting "into a cloud" and noticing "hey, the visibility's decreased a
bit, I must be in a cloud" and getting INTO A CLOUD and not being able
to see anything (the ubiquitous VFR-pilot-gets-stuck-in-IMC scenario.)

I assumed he meant the former, but it seems like alot of people have
assumed he meant the latter (the official "FAA and NOAA-approved"
definition of a cloud...), which may be why some of the responses have
been so vehement.  There are a fair number of incidents involving non-
instrument trained pilots finding themselves in IMC and then dead...


Now, off onto a sidetrack (from the I-can't-believe-I'm-Saying-This-
on-rec.aviation.whatever file):

I was lucky.  I went to art school.  In art school, I was given
practice in taking criticism, because when you're critiqued in art
school, criticism is not a personal attack.  You come to view it as a
source of information about how your art is perceived by those around
you.

My "awful" secret is that I still find myself getting defensive when
things I do or objects I've created are criticised.  I've been doing
art for over 10 years.  One would think I'd know better by this time.
What I do (and it still takes an effort of will many times, since I am
not known for my meek disposition) is step back and say "I will make
no excuses" and then examine what the critic has to say.

You see, in every criticism, there is a grain of truth, as the critic
sees it.  And if something about the criticism makes you defensive,
sometimes it's because you are just too close to what you are saying
to see what it is your critic is saying.

(Also, bear in mind, on the net especially, we do not have all the
facts, ONLY THE ONES SUPPLIED by the poster.  Anything else is simply
ASSUMED by the readers.)

So, take a step back from what you said, and another one back from
what your critic wrote.  Try to imagine the person commenting on your
posting MEANS WELL, even if you suspect they don't.  Try to believe
that the critic is commenting on a situation that someone else might
find themselves in, not on you and your abilities.


There are a couple of things you can do about criticism you receive on
the net.  You can assume that the person who is criticising you is
correct in some way, and you can try to learn from their point of
view.

You can assume they don't have all the facts, or came to the wrong
conclusion, and dismiss what they have to say (in which case, if they
ARE correct, you may end up learning that what they have said is true,
in some other, possibly painful or fatal, way.)

You can take what they say at face value, decide it does not apply to
the situation which you were discussing, and file it away for future
reference, possibly discussing it with other people who's opinions you
value more, like your instructor.


If you can manage to convince yourself that most people on rec.aviation
mean well, you should never feel as though they are picking on you, but
that they are trying to help you learn.

And if they are out of line, hey, that's their problem, don't make it
yours.

     					--amy

   "What Matt Ginsberg does not know is that we have been secretly
  switching all our rec.aviation student pilots with Geoff Peck..."


Typography & Design Department ~ Camex, Inc. ~ Boston, MA (617-426-7550 x575)
A.G.Lindsay, PP-ASEL   *   Cloud Rental: Reasonable Rates   *   amy@camex.com

    Never date a pilot who lives more than one time zone away from you.