> Here's the thing, though - you seem to think that you should be an
> instant expert at this and not need to practice (otherwise you'd not just
> say "I suck at this" and not work to improve it).
>
> One has to look for opportunities to present and to write, and take
> advantage of them.  That's how you improve - by doing, and then by
> evaluating the experience.

For the most part, it's a case of not having the time or money to 
improve things. For example, I'd like to be able to sing. But I have 
literally no idea how you'd go about that, and I can't afford it anyway. 
You say that writing is all about getting good feedback, but I can't 
think of any way to do that. And so forth.

> So then what would your next step be?

Beats me!

>> Yes, well, I have no intention of becoming a professional sound
>> engineer. I just want to know the techniques so I can use them for my
>> hobby projects. ;-)
>
> Which is why you would use something like Google (remember Google? ;-) )
> to learn more about a topic.

I guess it's a case of not bothering to even search for it under the 
assumption that I won't find anything of use. Usually when I search I 
find nothing useful, so over the years I've gradually given up.

> For more technical topics (not IT specific, but more detailed topics),
> learning is an iterative process.  You find a resource, read it, and then
> evaluate "did I get what I needed?" - and if you didn't, then you find
> the next resource.

I spent quite a long time doing that with digital filter design. 
Eventually I gave up due to the sheer intractability of finding anything 
remotely useful. (Fortunately, many years later I finally stumbled upon 
a very good resource by accident...)

> You need to learn to do this iteration rather than giving up after round
> 1 so frequently.  You did it with your dancing classes, so apply that to
> other areas in your life. :)

Uh, I went to *one* dance school, and I'm still there. Not a great 
analogy. :-P

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