infonerd wrote:MrScruff, I am more of a visual learner. I would like to be able to feel something and see what I am doing at the same time. At least in the learning stage. I still have a long ways to go but I think a cutaway would be really helpful. Also helpful with security pins.
All right, I won't argue... much more.
(I'm not just arguing for the sake of arguing though)
Visual learner or not, the best way to learn
any new skill is in the context you're going to use it. For example, if you're learning a new language you shouldn't link new words and phrases to your native language, you should link them to concepts. When I learned sign language we weren't allowed to speak to prevent making unnecessary associations to English. Yes, it probably would have been easier to have someone say "this sign means this" initially, but after enough struggling and repetition I could figure out what was being said based solely on context. I didn't know what half the signs meant but I knew what people were telling me.
When it comes to picking, most of the feedback you get will be through your fingers, you will get a little feedback visually and aurally but they don't do you much good in a noisy environment or in the dark, you need to learn to understand what the pins are telling you. If you just want to see how things work check out some videos on Youtube, then you save some money and see what happens without linking it to your tactile learning. You need to be able to "see" through your fingers, to say "okay, this pin stack bounced back a little when I lifted it so it's neither set nor binding", whether you're looking at the lock or not. And yes, it's frustrating as hell when you start out but it makes the achievement that much sweeter when the lock springs open in your hands. You're obviously interested in doing this, which is the biggest step in learning anything, just keep that motivation going and things will fall into place quickly.
*climbs off soapbox* Okay, I'm done now.
"We all sit around in a circle and suppose, while the secret sits in the center and knows." --Robert Frost
