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>  todd
>  sounds like you are stating what I have said on here for two years 
>  seeking improvement and maintaining an open mind. Studing from the 
>  present best and evolving into a future best as equipment and 
>  technology evolve. 
>  Bravo 
>  tom

Thank you.  That is an accurate description of what I believe, provided 
that an "open mind" and a "bullshit filter" are not mutually exclusive.  
I don't think they are, but it does takes time and experience to refine 
one's filter.  This means that there is a real risk when a "newbie" sees 
less than optimal config too early on to recognize it for what it is.  
In my opinion, "censoring" the less than optimal stuff is not effective, 
so the correct response to this risk is for people who do use the optimal 
config to make it as visible and accessible as possible.

To be clear, though, I was referring to improvement within the
framework of "Hogarthian principles" -- which are essentially like
a set of specifications or requirements.  If you try to compare a
Hogarthian configuration to one that doesn't even try to address 
these principles, it's like apples and oranges.  We need a way to 
measure whether a design meets objectives, and while "keeps the 
diver alive" is the ultimate goal it's not a sufficient measure 
because you only get a data point when somebody dies.  That's why 
we need *some* set of principles, and personally I believe that 
those called "Hogarthian" are the best bet around.  (Maybe even
the only bet -- does any other config have specific principles?)

Somebody pointed out to me privately that it's risky for someone to
start making "improvements" when they still don't really understand
everything they're doing.  This is a very good point.  Somebody who
thinks they thought up something "new and improved" really needs to
wonder why somebody else didn't think of it first -- more often than
not, somebody *did* think of it first, and ruled it out for reasons
the new person hasn't considered yet.

So anyway, yes, I think it's right to have a very open and active 
mind, but with a direction to guide it...

- Todd

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