Internet Modeler Editorial
One subject that comes up time and again is research materials. More
to the point, the accuracy of them and which is 'best'. I am lucky enough
to actually work on many of these references and I must say that it is
both an honour, and also a little bit scary to think that work that may
be done late at night, with little source material, or even be a best-guess,
will become accepted wisdom solely due to having been in print. So, just
how does one decide who, or what, to believe?
Until the time machine is perfected, almost every reference will have
errors. They may be due to incomplete information, misinformation, or.
. and this is the real biggie. .. a deadline. A perfect example of this
is a book that we originally finished almost three years ago, but has
yet to see print. . just last week the author sent me some new information
in the hope I could correct a small detail we missed originally in an
illustration. In the overall scheme of things this isn't much, but it
does show that there are those out there to whom the sharing of knowledge
is paramount, and that is the biggest hope for the future of research.
Who or what is best? It depends on what is desired, and what the level
of interest a person has in a subject. I once thought my library of two
WWI aviation books was acceptable, now, at over 300 I still see major
gaps in my knowledge. As you gather various references, a pattern may
begin to emerge in the material becoming far more selective as opposed
to the broader strokes of beginning research in a field. Both approaches
have their place. . the general history serves to introduce the beginner
to a subject, while the more selective titles will provide one who has
delved into a subject with what they require.
This can be seen amongst attendees at any seminar, conference or even
mailing list/chat room, the newcomer will ask anything and everything.
The more seasoned will assume that everyone has the same basic knowledge
and it is not necessary to state the obvious - however this approach may
cause him to miss out on something that the beginner may bring with him
that was missed by the more seasoned person.
So, in the end, they all have their place, and it is up to each person
to decide the relative merits .. some may have poor text, but great photos
that are in a reasonable package. Others may be loaded with textual information,
but lack photos. Is one better than the other? Only you can decide.
|
|