IMO, If what Homer meant was clearly explained- which is very attainable- his work would really have alot more power behind it! Whether in person or in the book- it's no different - he didn't always clearly communiciate his ideas- for whatever reason, personally I just think it was an issue of - he understood the context in which he was talking and assumed that it would be obvious to others. There are examples of that, which he specifically talked about- for example he didn't think that 21 items in 1-L were needed- as that was all obvious. After talking to many people, he realized that it wasn't obvious to people by looking at the sketch in 1-L, so in the 3rd edition he added 21 items that related to the machine. Likewise, his use of speed, velocity, acceleration, RPM's, MPH's are many times based on the context of the discussion- which make it impossible for the beginner to follow- unless clearly explained. Besides the Momentum vs. Acceleration issue in the glossary item- I'd like to post in the next day what I believe he was saying in the acceleration glossary item by using other areas of the book that are applicable plus actual quotes from Homer discussing this particular glossary item.
All of us here agree that the guy was brilliant but like most brilliant people- he had some issues. I'm with Metallion and Tongzilla, that I think there are many places where you could continue to help Homer achieve his goal-"It has to be bullet proof!" and the glossary example is one place to start. It's not so much he didn't understand the concept- the guy was more than smart, he just didn't communicate it clearly all the time.
A 7th edition really won't change much, but an 8th....?, you'd need some sunglasses!
Hybrid Mode
