Practical v.s. Theoretical Learning

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Cletis

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-Firstly, how did you learn electric ? Brief bio if you will. I'll start

Started as teenager and worked in family. If something touched something and sparked learned not to touch it again. And also what elders told me to do. This lasted about 15yrs then I started to pick up books and learn the theory and all the false codes I thought were codes from the old timers. And boy there were alot of them.

Second Question:

What is best way to learn electric ?

A. Practical first then theory

B. Theory first then Practical

C. Both at same time

D. Other
 
I went to elec trade school , as I was going to school I would do small work for friends outlets , lights etc.

then I got into field and have 4 years years exp.

I think it's beter to learn therory first so the individual has a understanding of whats going on
in a circuit and has a foundation to work off of.
 
IMO it depends on what type of learner you are.

Personally, first I like to learn the theory and get a clear working picture of the basic operation in my brain, before learning the practical.
 
There are two answers I think:

1) all above said so far.
2) Go get a BSEE degree: it lets you UNDERSTAND the basics and know WHERE to look for further answers. You learn to think differently than a trade school teaches you.
 
Back in the 50's Pop would buy my brother and I non-working TVs at an auction house for 50 cents, minimum bid, none of the repair pros would buy a set with marginal picture tube , so we got quite a few. Learned to repair the B&W tube TVs as a pre-teen. Lots of parts left to build keen stuff.

Built a few EICO kits in the 50's as could afford them, scope, VTVM, VOM, etc. Worked for POCO surveying and transmission line design intern.

Finally got to the theory, got a BSEE mid 60s.

Spent the last 50 years since then mostly fixing other folks aerospace electronic oversights that result in premature failures, last 20 year mostly power electronics - the new 'kids on the block' all just want to do digital that does not make smoke if you screw up a design.

Still learning, still making mistakes.

Subscribe to the 'both' learning method. I have had papers rejected by tech journals that describe failure modes found (could not reveal the program) as academic reviewers said 'we do not accept hypothetical situations' - shows the value of real world exposure vs. just theory.

A seminar I used to give had a lead in - IEEExplore search showed 30,000 or so papers with 'new' or 'novel' in the abstract, but only 15 with the word "mistake'. Practical.

One interesting aspect, early 1970's. Company needed a designer for radiation and EMP protection for missile silos. Involved testing with 100 kV pulsers, 100's of kA pulsers. Was the only person in the group that was not afraid of working with HV, as worked with HV in tube TVs and gotten bit enough to have ingrained safety protocols. Ended up doing that for about 20 years till Berlin wall fell and all the programs I was working the power systems and power supplies and were cancelled (Hard Mobile, SRAMII, Rail Garrison, proprietary stuff, etc. )
 
I think Tesla and Paul McCartney were both practical learners. Basically, learning from screwing up, and they were both kinda good.
 
Besoeker said:
Practical is knowing how to.
Theoretical is just knowing.
Click to expand...
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, however,...."
Seriously, the theory you are taught is often simplified and idealized, so knowing that it does not fully apply, or even why it does not apply, can bridge the gap between theory and experience. Without the experience, you might never realize those limitations.
 
I had a son and was in need of quick employeement. I got shocked 2 times on my first day, installing gfci plugs on hot circuits on a kitchen countertop. I was pissed. then went to a resi rough and i say to the lead man im a quick learner and i really want this job.... he says take that hole hog a drill me a few holes,,,,,,i drillllllllllllllllllled and drillllllllllled and said this sucks and drilllllllllllled,,,,,,i stop and said hey buddy this is bs ,,,,,,,, he says try in forward,,,,,,,,POW up side my head fell off the ladder,,,,,he says you are smart you let go......we get to the shop the boss said hey dumb a,, come here....this morning you etched your tool belt all across the fronts of custom cabinets in 2 diff houses......you may want this job but i dont think it wants you....I said ill pay for the damage and you dont have to pay me for the trouble ive caused today......He said youre hired, youre gonna be a good electrician one day.
 
Got my theory first in the Navy. Practical on a nuclear sub. College for an almost EE. Dropped out one semester away from graduation. Lured away by big money "nuclear startup technician" jobs. Went to utilities after that, so Code was N/A in most cases. Learned most of my Code from the construction electrician I worked with here. Residential is still a learning curve. Like the old saying, though.... "Experience is a mistake you live through". Nothing beats "experience".
 
IMO - you need to work the field, ask questions(there are no stupid questions), Take heed to advice, If you last long enough to be dangerous the theory will begin to find you. Myself, once I could visualize the mechanics the code made more sense & the questions about theory evloved. Straight theory learning before mechanics seem to fall short of pratical use IMO. Being able to handle the cuts & bruises cannot be learned in a classroom. The electrical trade is one that you will continue to learn something new everyday if the passion is there, not learning not the job for you.
 
GoldDigger said:
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, however,...."
Seriously, the theory you are taught is often simplified and idealized, so knowing that it does not fully apply, or even why it does not apply, can bridge the gap between theory and experience. Without the experience, you might never realize those limitations.
Click to expand...
I did a student apprenticeship. During the vacation periods I worked for the company that sponsored me. So I got a bit of both. Actually, quite a lot of both. What struck me was how useful the practical knowledge I (and others) had compared to others who did have that.

A comparison.
For electrical machine theory we had a guy who had been employed as a machine designer. If he talked about a 20MW alternator it was something he'd seen and done.

Then there was waveform analysis - the mathematical approach. Fourier series.
The square wave can be analysed as a series of sine waves. The lecturer had never been outside the academic field and thought that the summing of the series was actually how a square wave was generated.

As it happens, Fourier series analysis is a tool I use in real life for working out the harmonic content of non-linear loads like variable speed drives.
 
GoldDigger said:
"How do you avoid mistakes?
Through experience!
How do you get experience?
By making mistakes!"
Click to expand...

I like this GoldDigger! I have a lot of friends who are very book skilled but not very practically skilled. I have always learned on my own and backed it up later with formal knowledge. I have always lived my life that way and it has worked out for me. I have been playing guitar over 50 years. I decided I wanted to be Elvis one day and picked up a guitar and started sounding it all out. Neil Schon (Journey & Santana) and I had the same guitar tech at one time (an old friend of mine Haik Babaian). Someone had made this guitar at one time that had LED's in the neck that would light up in major/minor patterns in whatever key you were trying to play in. We were both looking at an ad for one at Haik's shop laughing about it. Neil Schon walks in about 20 minutes later. He has this guitar case and says, "Hey guys, you have to see this cool guitar I just got". Neil could afford any guitar he wanted so I was really interested to see it. He pulls out this guitar we were just making fun of. He said, "You know, all these years and I never knew what I was doing until I got this guitar". True story. Anyway, yeah, most of the gifted ones seem to be all practical knowledge. But, having the formal knowledge always helps. When I became an electrician years ago, I worked for service shops so I had to learn theory to figure out why things didn't work. Looking back, I would say tempering your practical knowledge with formal education is the best method, but nothing works like getting your hands in there and doing it. You can read all the shop manuals you want, but the first time you change a starter on a BMW, you will realize reading the manuals didn't help you to figure out how to get your huge hands over to the top of the bell housing to get it out.

BTW, great thread!
 
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