Balancing on the Razor's Edge

bonsaial1

The simple solution
Now for me...every four years brings on the most wonderful time of my life. Political debate about picking a new President. For someone like me that loves discussion and the process, I am in my glory. While watching the 24 hour news shows, I am amazed at the way every question is ignored and the question gets asked many times and is never answered. There sometimes seems to be a rehearsed mantra about what objectives need to be focused on.

I thought about this for a while in the reading room this evening, and realized that at moments the same type of thing goes on right here on the forum. ( ere-Hay ou-Yay o-Gay arl-Cay ) Wouldn’t it be refreshing to just get a simple yes and no answer.

It would be wonderful to leave the rhetoric from the discussion and just answer yes and no to the questions. A list of questions might go like this:

1. This is my plant, do you think it looks like a bonsai?
2. If no, do you think it has potential?
3. If yes, do you think I am qualified to get it there?
4. Do you folks like this pot?
5. Should I throw this away?

A critique could be spelled out by the presenter with simple yes or no answers, to simple questions that have to do with specific needs of the presenter.

The other thing I find interesting about the forum, is that even when a majority reaches the same conclusion, there are those that still insist that they are right in their decisions. While this is all well and good and luckily we have the right to practice bonsai any way we please, it makes no sense to ask for help or a point of view and then thumb your nose to the majority.

Challenge yourself to whether or not you could really be this truthful. This takes guts and is not for the lighthearted. Would anyone like to participate in an experiment? Do we have any volunteers to put up a tree for the experiment?

Al

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Will_Heath

Well, I'm not Carl....

However I do feel like you have a point here Al. I also have noticed this trend and it not only involves asking for advice but also to those that offer up a opinion and then run circles around the truth when they are called on it.

What's even more strange is the fact that I am actually agreeing with you....strange days indeed.


Will

bonsaial1

Sox won the series, it don't get no stranger then that...

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Experience is fundamental

Will_Heath

Al, I have a tree I will put up, if you would like to start with something that can easily be torn up....same questions as you posted above?

jloeschner

Al,

I am a little confused. What exactly are you challenging people to do, put up a tree and follow the given advise, or critique their own tree honestly? Oh, well, either way, I will volunteer. A pic of my golden gate ficus is attached. I bought it in August, and have since repotted it into a large flower pot for growing out. I was not aware of what a "good" bonsai was when I bought it, but the more I learn, the more faults I can find in it. So, please, have fun...

Regards,
John

EDIT < I misunderstood and have deleted the pics >

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bonsaial1

I have a tree and a pot that I would like to post, but I need to groom a couple things and I will need a 24 hour reprieve..
Till tomarrow, Al

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Experience is fundamental

bonsaial1

John, this isn't actually meant to be a thread that will have a bunch of trees in it asking for a critique. What I am failing to say is, wouldn't you just sometimes like to ask a question and get a general concensus from the forum from say a couple dozen people with a yes or no answer. This is much like a poll does. A poll just cuts through all the rhetoric.

Did you ever read all the stuff that gets posted below the polls? Sometimes its gets compleatly off the track.

Post a picture of your recent work and ask "am I on the right track here".

You know where you are going, and don't need 20 versions of how someone could improve it, or how you have failed. If you wanted something like that, I'm sure there are those that would galdly give you your monies worth. I would!

Al

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Experience is fundamental

jloeschner

Al,
Sorry, I misunderstood your intentions.

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

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Tony

"The other thing I find interesting about the forum, is that even when a majority reaches the same conclusion, there are those that still insist that they are right in their decisions. While this is all well and good and luckily we have the right to practice bonsai any way we please, it makes no sense to ask for help or a point of view and then thumb your nose to the majority."

Al, it's not a bonsai democracy, where 49% of the growers have to do what the other 51% think is best. It's more of a republic with a bonsai growers bill of rights. People will post trees for various reasons. Maybe they just want to see what their fellow bonsaist think. It doesn't necessarily mean they will or should follow their advise. The majority can be very wrong too. Look at all the investment advisers and mutual funds that were buying up Enron at 90 dollars per share. They were sorely mistaken. They are now waithing beneath the judges podium hoping that a scrap will be thrown their way.

Just something to think about.

Tony