Howling at the moon version.
We have had lots of conversation about not reading the Owner’s Manual. They are usually started by me when I think that not using such a valuable tool is funny, dangerous or just seriously lazy. Often I’m just incredulous that anyone would purchase an expensive car and not want to understand all of its functions. But I’ve finally had the “aha” moment. By reading this forum and forums on other subjects it has slowly dawned on me that there are at least two opposite behavior patterns at work. For instance, I grew up on self-sufficiency and pride of knowledge but now there is the “Google mindset” of temporary knowledge that can be accessed immediately with little regard to if the information is good or bad.

This does not seem to be defined by gender or age but by expediency.

Expediency wasn’t a choice growing up in a rural area where there were no repair people to call if something broke. You fixed it, did without or replaced it. There was no Internet to quickly access a soon to be forgotten answer so what you learned you remembered. Proving ones ability was a sign of “manhood” (or “womanhood”).

I guess I am concerned by the movement away from a relationship with books, instruction manuals and learning something towards an embrace of the instant question and the instant answer that seems quickly forgotten. Maybe that is a long way from not reading the Owner’s Manual, FAQs or doing searches but it seems like a growing trend. I do think that the hard work of seeking a solution by using a little sweat equity is part of the successful management of life but then that is what I was taught. But then I've been wrong before. How do you teach your kids?

But if I can get you to get the information for me, haven't I been even better at life management, particularly of my time? I learned to delegate

No kids to teach but you won't get any arguement here. I've read the owners manual a couple times now and if anything find it a bit shallow. I also regret that Porsche no longer publishes service manuals for the cars. Something I'm sure I'll miss from the last one. Even just skimming though left me with a better feel on how it all went together.

The service manager at my local Porsche store says he'll get me this kind of info but we'll see. Unfortuneately that leaves google and forums like this if one wants more info on how to do more then open the doors and drive the car.

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Les

I've read the Cayman owners manual from cover to cover. Jam-packed with frivolous, inane, useless warnings about danger and acne, it is a tedious read. Don't get too flattered, but reading this Forum is infinitely more entertaining.

Well I agree and disagree with some of those points... the way you define expediency as a mindset focused around the Internet and the google age and everybody can search for their solutions, well I'm a part of that age and the first place I go for solutions to problems or DIY fixes is google.

I disagree that "expediency" and "self sufficiency"/"Pursuit of Knowledge" are opposite mindsets. Sources of knowledge like the Internet (search engines, discussion forums, etc) are similar to owners manuals; except in many cases they are more difficult and time consuming to search/browse through than an owners manual. Many people, and I'm one of them just don't have the attention span to flip through a text such as the owners manual which is dry and contains many things that are common knowledge because of previous cars they have owned, or whatever. Well, with that being said, I keep a PDF of the owners manual, PCM2.1 manual, and the service manual on my computer and when I have a question about the car, the first thing I do is open one of them and easily just look at the table of contents or usually just do apple+F (ctrl+f for you windows users) and search a relevant word and typically I have my answer in seconds. The second thing I do is search the forums (all of them), first for titles only, and then entire posts and typically I find the solution to my issue without starting a new thread. My last resort is starting a new thread, because that means I will have to wait a while for a solution. The fact is that some people just don't properly use the tools and sources available to them on the Internet.

I really value pursuit of knowledge and self sufficiency, so as I find these things out, I commit them to memory... and pass the knowledge along as others post with the same questions. And as people on this forum get answers to their questions, it's pretty apparent that they commit them to knowledge because everybody here actively answers questions. A fact of life is that you learn by experience, especially by doing something wrong or having a question/problem and then finding a solution to it. But what I see too much of on the forum is new posts asking questions that you can easily get from the owners manual or even searching this forum. Not too mention the tons of private messages I get with electronics questions that have been discussed before and I almost always reply with links to the threads. Here is why it bothers me:

If these people who post a new thread about an already answered question or issue, or say send one of the "experts" on the forum a PM; then they have to wait, minutes, hours or even days until they get the answer to their question. On the other hand, they could search or read the FAQ or their owners manual and immediately get the answer. So I argue that the problem is not a mindset of expediency, it's poor use of tools that are supposed to aide expediency. So why, instead of searching, or even paying attention to that feature that automatically lists like-titled threads before you make a new post, do people still post a new topic for a common question?

Some people argue that the older items doesn't exactly address their issues, or that their may be new developments not discussed in the old posts... but if that is the case, why not append to the old post to bring it back to life. Other people argue that doing so would significantly reduce the conversation factor of the forum, but that doesn't make sense to me as long as its properly done. Posting something new in an old thread still brings it up to the front and it shows up in the "new posts" search.

What I think it is, at least in many occasions is a centrist, "all about me" mindset. I think some people actually, unconsciously assume that nobody has had a similar question or issue before. Or they are unwilling to exert effort into looking through preexisting information... and would rather be spoon-fed answers.


Sometimes I wonder how things would be if every thread that popped up with a question answered previously was always merged into an older thread. Don't get me wrong, I love conversation and can talk cars all day... and I enjoy researching new topics when members approach me with questions about electronics mods.

But, the ultimate goal should be consolidation, not because it saves server space, but because organization saves time and energy for everybody. People with questions will get immediate answers, or they can "bump" the thread back to the top to get even more opinions. It's not just this forum, one of the major issues with the Internet is a lack of consolidation. Every day terabytes of information is being added to the Internet, but it is unorganized and scattered. If the trend continues, I think we will enter an age in which there is more information than ever before, but nobody will have a clue as to how to access it...

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- Suneet

PS... my last post is about as dense and boring as the owners manual, so I'll understand those of you who skip it

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- Suneet

Excitement about reading an owner's manual is dependent on unique learning attributes for a person. IMHO, these folks tend to be left brain dominant (logical, sequential, linear, mechanical) and engineer/scientist/builder types.

I would be the complete opposite to that one. I just want to understand all that is available to me. Some folks sell their Caymans and never know what was there. Porsches are not like other cars and a lot of people make the mistake of thinking they know everything about them or they believe they have an orginal thought and post their question without doing any homework. But the point I'm trying to make is that there is a trend of "not learning" but of relying on a database that is available at all times as a substitute which to me is the left brain person not the learned one. And I'm hoping parents teach learning above asking. Make any sense?

Not real sure Santa Fe but I think the answer is back to the personality of the person.

Example: I meet a lot of people who are of a higher college grade level than I am and have executive type of jobs and they cannot use some of the technology in place to their advantage nor do they do as the emails ask them to do.

If I call and leave you a voicemail then CHECK IT, don't call me and ask what I wanted.

Most are too lazy because their parents have done most of the work for them because they didn't want them to suffer like they did during the depression days. You know, get over it.

My son asks me about things and I tell him "you know son, I'm not real sure but lets go and research it and we can learn together". BTW, he is getting a new gas powered RC car and has been told he cannot touch it until he reads the manual cover to cover and there may be a test.

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Porsche
its like kids, you wont understand until you have one

I disagree with this entirely. In fact I wish there was no such thing as voice mail. Remember, voice mail came about BEFORE caller ID. In an ancient day and age where tape style cassettes where all the rave....and you HAD to leave a voice mail in order for your target to know that the silly telephone even rang while they were away!

With the invention of caller ID, all I need to know is that you called...I will return your call. I then have your telephone number and can call you to discuss the matter. In most cases, whatever your message stated ultimately means I have to call you back anyway with an answer or acknowledgment (i.e., "yes dinner at 7:45 is fine). So really all you need to do when you call and do not get me on the line is to hang up. Simple as that. I will call back and we can talk about any and all issues.

I can tell you this......I almost NEVER check my voice mails....well I do....but only to DELETE them without ever listening to them. It drives me crazy to sit and listen to any message knowing I am going to end up calling you ANYWAY and you will likely repeat everything you just said....total waste of time. Make that a DOUBLE waste of time.....waste of time for you to leave the message, waste of time for me to listen to it....then money says you re-state your point anyway on the next call.

I will make an exception in such cases like this weekend at Rock n Croc 3 where I know you will be out of cell phone range and you called me in that 30 second window of opportunity and left a message.....AND....I am pretty sure that when I call you back, you will be back out of cell phone range anyway.

There are exceptions to every rule....

Now if you want to talk about a HUGE waste of time.....lets discuss the ever ridiculous phenomenon of text messaging on cell phones. People will send 10-20-30 texts, which take LONGER to create (per message) than talking via voice just one time and actually using the cell phone as a flippin' TELEPHONE!

I understand texts messages if all you want to say.....and I do mean ALL you want to say.... is something simple that requires NO response...as in "honey I will be 15 minutes late for dinner."

....talk about thread jacking.....

Sorry

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Kevin

Welcome to my world. I am an engineer, I am a product architect for wireless chipsets for "a major silicon company". (Avoiding plugging company and the BS that comes if I suddenly turn into an official rep.)

For years I have dealt with the two groups of people. Those who read and at least try to understand things and those who expect to be told exactly what they want without any searching on their part (i.e. no research). The people who want to read the actual document and the people who want 3 bullet points on their Power Point summary of the topic.

This has driven me crazy for the last 30 years. I expect it will continue to bother me for as long as I am an engineer.

My friends know that if they ask me a question I will know the answer and tell them instantly or find the answer and get back to them. At times this annoys me. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. At worst it means no one will play Trivial Prusuit with me. ;-)

It does bother me that an apparant majority of people in the world expect all answers to be provided to them instead of doing it themselves. I'm not sure if this is biological or cultural. It scares me around elections though.

- Dan

Future Cayman owner. Once I finish memorizing everything ever published about the car. And every other car. And figure out if work is going to move me overseas before I can get one. Ok, so sometimes being an engineer isn't the best option... (And WHY is this my first post? Not about cars. About reading manuals. Argghhhhhh.)