[CQ-Contest] down the path with Dave

[David Gilbert]

Pete,

You're trying to actually reason with Charles and that isn't going to 
get you very far.   Just look at the criticism he makes in his first 
paragraph below ... the part about people rejecting reasoned criticism 
because they identify something (the "purity of CW" in his case) with 
the "inner human self" (the "higher fun" he refers to later).  He might 
as well have painted his own face on that picture and he doesn't even 
realize it.

73,
Dave   AB7E


On 12/2/2012 5:27 AM, Pete Smith N4ZR wrote:
> Charly, the only thing that Skimmer replaces is the physical act of 
> tuning the radio.  An operator still must copy the CW,. verify that he 
> is copying the station spotted (instead of the one adjacent to it), 
> copy the exchange, and send and receive verification of his exchange.  
> Moreover, a running station receives no assistance from CW Skimmer at 
> all.
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> Check out the Reverse Beacon Network at
> http://reversebeacon.net,
> blog at reversebeacon.blogspot.com.
> For spots, please go to your favorite
> ARC V6 or VE7CC DX cluster node.
>

> On 11/30/2012 8:42 PM, Charles Harpole wrote:
>> Dave, any time a trend gets a name, like Luddite, that name 
>> substitutes for
>> thinking (like a name for a racial type of person).  Further, it is 
>> typical
>> of rigid personalities to reject reasoned criticism of something they 
>> have
>> a powerful and even vested interest in, extending to the point of
>> identifying the subject (ham radio) or object (a beloved radio brand) 
>> with
>> the inner human self.
>>
>> Often that rejection of reasoned criticism goes on to try to throw 
>> out the
>> person delivering the critique and the creation of a "protected zone" of
>> isolation from critiques.  That latter step guarantees the "inside 
>> crowd"
>> of insulation from any contrary thinking and thus ossification of that
>> crowd (similar to Romney's advisers thinking that he will win even to
>> election day due to listening only to the "inside crowd").
>>
>> The use of  pejorative language, like "childish and shrill," further 
>> is a
>> symptom of the reduction of a reasoned line of comment to a simplistic
>> kneejerk reaction devoid of reason.
>> The care of elephants is a noble occupation and one which I wish I could
>> do, but it is very expensive, beyond my means.
>>
>> My overall point remains, and that is that not every new invention is
>> automatically good (like the atomic bomb, but I guess you would like 
>> that)
>> and, further, the careful use of new inventions means evaluating 
>> their real
>> usefulness and long term benefits and drawbacks of the item or idea.  
>> That
>> evaluation can not occur in the vacuum of blind acceptance of "the new."
>>
>> The result of the innovation of the CW Skimmer is, I argue, the 
>> reduction
>> of a time-honored practice of the art of radio communication and the 
>> joy of
>> learning and doing something that is difficult, beneficial to the 
>> person,
>> and elegant.  Just as there is no art to making a telephone call, today,
>> there is no art in the mechanical delivery of CW messages via an easy
>> machine.
>>
>> What I affirm is that ham radio exists for what I call "a higher fun" 
>> which
>> eschews the easy and simplistic by seeking the complex and activities 
>> that
>> yield deep satisfaction that comes from taking on a task and goal and
>> accomplishing that after due effort.  In any other context, ham radio 
>> is a
>> firmly obsolete mode of communication, so I see the hobby as similar to
>> collecting, restoring, and using antique cars... which occurs for the 
>> joy
>> of the activity rather than looking for the easiest transportation.  Why
>> one would seek to put a 12 cylinder turbo charged 2012 motor into a 
>> Model T
>> is beyond me, and seems to be simply arcane.  Thus, I advocate the 
>> practice
>> of ham radio as close to its origins in order to preserve the values
>> inherent there and the "higher fun" of this path.
>>
>> Of course, the Skimmer type stuff also forever makes ham radio 
>> contesting a
>> rather pointless activity, devoid of those pleasures I describe.  I 
>> mourn
>> the loss of this fun for you and future generations.
>>
>> 73, Charly
>>