midlifeflyer said:
No.
There is way too much emphasis on "opinion" over fact. That's politically correct nonsense. Yes, there is sometimes a fuzzy line between the two, usually in the area of what a fact means or what facts people decide to use to support their viewpoints. But there are things that are a matter of opinion; there are things that clearly on the matter of fact side of the line. Discussing whether Joe's red shirt is ugly is a matter of opinion; discussing whether Joe's shirt is red or blue is idiotic.
Whether a VOR airway is designed to use magnetic courses or true courses is not a matter of opinion. It's a matter of knowledge. Those who say magnetic have knowledge; those who say true have ignorance.
Of course, "Are Victor airways true or magnetic?" is a legitimate question asked by someone who is looking for information. And differing answers are indeed valuable, especially when they end up as a discussion - they let the listener know who to go to with the next question and who to stay far away from.
BTW, I think too many answers assume that you were the one "arguing" that the answer is "true." I assume nothing of the sort.
Mark,
your teaching method is different than mine.. To each their own..
When I teach I'd like to encourage students to use their head, instead of repeating back to me an answer that I give them.
Once again, there are things that are better learned with discussion..
We are not discussing something like "How many hp is the engine on the Tomahawk?".. That's not open for debate.
There are, on the other hand, some other areas where people don't have the right answer, right away.. Victor airways was such a subject. The other 3 are the same.. There are a lot of wrong information people carry over in this business because they were taught wrong from their CFIs.
When someone in the ground school says they are magnetic and someone else says "true" I just don't give them the answer.. I make them think about it.. (In this case my reply was "When you have no winds , you are on the airway, does the heading indicator match with the OBS indicator if you are on 090 radial flying east bound?" )
I could have said "magnetic".....
Which of these methods will teach to student better? Through which of these methods student will have the incentive to look the answer up and think about it ?
My experience is , a lot of people learn the things by heart and repeat back the answer without thinking about it! A parrot can do that..
I wanted to start a similar discussion here in the sprit of this website. Morons called me names, etc. for it.. It is amazing how easy it is to call me names hiding behind a screen name..
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Added the Chinese proverb:
...
I hear and
I forget.
I see and
I remember.
I do and
I understand.