@styleman- at the risk of sounding patronizing, when the geezers like me came up, there was no Internet, so what we learned was all a function of reading, meeting with other audiophiles, hanging and listening as a quasi-social event. Even if the get-together had a purpose- to evaluate some piece of equipment or listen to some new material, not all was serious business.
The last part is something that I think is missing today- there are clubs, and there are people who socialize (now that Covid appears to be receding), around hi-fi and music, but I think that’s less common now. Today, I suspect it is more of a solitary pursuit and the Net can yield products, reviews and fora like this one for what can be a worldwide community rather than just a local one. But in many cases, this becomes an isolated pursuit- you listening in your room.
None of us have a "linear" knowledge base- at least for me, it’s pockets of knowledge that have been accumulated over the years. I think that’s true even of trained engineers and other scientists. This is a multi-disciplinary field and no one knows everything.
In almost all cases, for me, the learning came through seat time, backed up with research (not as accessible then as it is now) and comparisons, experimentation, discussion and more listening.
None of that excuses someone being rude to you, or having their ego bent out of shape and taking it out on you. If you are in a town where there are others interested in the pursuit, it’s worth seeking them out and getting to hear some systems in other peoples’ homes. It’s fun, it’s far more instructive than "virtual" interactions and you can develop enduring relationships. In fact, there are several people on this site (and others) with whom I’ve communicated over the years who I would like to visit and finally meet in person. The shared interest in audio/music becomes a bond that is often only part of the relationship.
The last part is something that I think is missing today- there are clubs, and there are people who socialize (now that Covid appears to be receding), around hi-fi and music, but I think that’s less common now. Today, I suspect it is more of a solitary pursuit and the Net can yield products, reviews and fora like this one for what can be a worldwide community rather than just a local one. But in many cases, this becomes an isolated pursuit- you listening in your room.
None of us have a "linear" knowledge base- at least for me, it’s pockets of knowledge that have been accumulated over the years. I think that’s true even of trained engineers and other scientists. This is a multi-disciplinary field and no one knows everything.
In almost all cases, for me, the learning came through seat time, backed up with research (not as accessible then as it is now) and comparisons, experimentation, discussion and more listening.
None of that excuses someone being rude to you, or having their ego bent out of shape and taking it out on you. If you are in a town where there are others interested in the pursuit, it’s worth seeking them out and getting to hear some systems in other peoples’ homes. It’s fun, it’s far more instructive than "virtual" interactions and you can develop enduring relationships. In fact, there are several people on this site (and others) with whom I’ve communicated over the years who I would like to visit and finally meet in person. The shared interest in audio/music becomes a bond that is often only part of the relationship.