Dennis-
I can live with what you say... it seems reasonable.
However, I have always had a thing about hero worship. In other words, if someone has risen to the level (in my mind) of Nagasawa, Rebour, Ferrari, Chanel, or Frank Lloyd Wright, then I become pretty darn humble. I feel that it's really not my place to disrespect them/their work. Can I gently make note of the fact that his really neat building has some structural problems, or that his supercar has some compromised finishing of the carbon fibre under the bonnet? Yeah, I suppose, but gently.
It just makes me squirm and it seems gross when a person feels so free and entitled to disrespect, (my words) some master's work- especially in a semi-public forum. Is there no shame?
I can assure you that if the critique were more modest, I wouldn't feel so compelled to turn over tables like The Hulk, (note how I capitalized the "T" and the "H"...)
By the way, I've never kicked anyone's *!@$#% - ing aarse in my life... it just felt so good to say it on this list! I might have done it to the dude who tried to cheat Olof though...
John Barron
Minneapolis
> John,
>
> In a perfect world the lion may sleep with the lamb, and in theory I would
> say that you are correct, but when you make something almost everyday for
> many years, you tend to develop a inclination to critique the product that
> falls within a similar definition to what you do. After all, you can
> generally define considerably better than the average public what level of
> accomplishment the other person's work has risen to. Who better knows
> what
> effort is required to accomplish something to a certain level, than a
> person
> doing similar work. When does objectivity become subjectivity, that is
> the
> difficult part. You don't have to be a maker to be a critic, there are
> many
> bike critics at this list who have never touched a torch, but they are
> experieced at looking, have frames* of reference. There is not only the
> standard of the goods, there is the vocabulary that is being used to
> market
> it, and the reputation of the maker that may or may not fit the reality of
> the finished product, such as was vociferously suggested with Mr.
> Nagasawa's
> frame. As you say, you can't see inside the head of the other guy and
> precisely know what the motivations are, though one can ask, but you can
> look at something to observe whether you feel there is a certain
> cohesiveness, confidence, spontaneity, study, whatever, or possibly the
> reverse of these qualities done in an inspired manner, i.e. the producer
> lived up to a plan or not, your "specifications". As a rule, looking at
> whatever is being done as that of someone doing his thing beyond reproach,
> it probably isn't a realistic expectation pertaining to a competative and
> generally needing to establish order species, we (us?) humans. That said,
> being offensive about it is generally not required, turning over the
> tables
> as the Hulk on a self appointed mission against injustice at the bike show
> or CR list, isn't going to get you many valentines or people respecting
> your
> opinion. Raising awareness and standards is probably a good thing in the
> long run, even if some feelings get hurt along the way, but as one member
> recently suggested, following "mother's law" may often have to be the best
> policy.
>
> Dennis Young
> being subjective, I hate snow in Hotaka, Japan
>
>
> snip from John Barron's post:
>
>> I think it's HUGELY arrogant for one person to think that they get to
>> define
>> the attributes of quality/perfection for someone else's product.
>>
>> In other words, one bicycle builder dude might build a bike for
>> affordability, another for handling, another for paint aesthetics,
>> another
>> for alignment accuracy, another for thinness of lugs, another for
>> squareness
>> of lug edges, another for lightness, another for stiffness, another for
>> aerodynamics, another for lack of file marks, blah, blah, blah.
>>
>> If I made something by hand, (I take pride in everything I do) and some
>> dork
>> proclaimed that my product didn't meet *their* definition of perfection,
>> I'd
>> kick their fu**ing ass... or, I'd take a sip of wine, and go on
>> to
>> the next post.