I took a geology field trip to the Oregon coast and the difference between a guidebook and a real person was huge

I spent a day last fall trying to use a popular field guide to identify the basalt formations near Yachats. The book had nice pictures, but I kept getting stuck on the fine details (like the specific type of columnar jointing). Then I went back a week later with a retired professor from the local community college. In about twenty minutes, he pointed out the subtle flow banding and vesicle patterns that the book just glossed over. Having someone who could answer my dumb questions on the spot made everything click in a way that reading never could. Has anyone else had a learning moment that just wouldn't have happened from a book or a video?

2 comments

2 Comments

brown.wesley3d ago

Books teach you to see for yourself.

the_patricia2d ago

Yeah, my buddy read this book about urban planning, and it totally changed how he walks around the city now. He points out stuff like why a certain park feels empty or a street seems busy, things I never noticed. He said the book didn't give him answers, just showed him how to look.