How do you tell a wizard?

[Tim Wood]

In article <9100017 at m.cs.uiuc.edu> carey at m.cs.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>So the unix wizard's magic incantation is "that depends..." ???
>
>This approach can be really annoying... ask someone a question, their
>response is "that depends, is it [ any of the following things ]"
>
>So you spend half an hour going over all the "that depends" and it turns
>out the guy is just stalling to cover up his answer which is "I dunno"
>
>I would rather answer a question,  "in most circumstances (or in my experience)
>this is most likely to be the answer" ... (then give an answer which is
>probably wrong anyway), then say " but that depends on this and that, 
>and the other thing, blah, blah, blah.....

Your preferred response may seem friendlier, but it conveys less information.

Someone saying "it depends" is explicitly asking you for more information,
so that they can give a more coherent answer.  They are also implicitly
giving you information.  "It depends" sometimes means "did you check...?".
Just knowing some of the contingencies of the problem can greatly aid
your understanding.  Even if the answer is not deposited directly in
your hand, you may gain enough information to answer it yourself.

Generalized answers don't tell you why they are correct or reveal 
incorrect reasoning when they are wrong.  So you come away with
incomplete or incorrect knowlege.

When it comes to computers, there are very few one-sentence answers.
Ability to leverage the input of others to solve your own problems is 
a major determiner of success.
-TW
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Voluntary disclaimer: This message is solely my personal opinion.
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