My grandson, when he was small, exhibited an engineering mind for construction.. Consequently, many of his toys were things like transformers and when he got a bit older, model planes, cars etc.He never read the instructions. From the time before he could read words, he would say he was reading the constructions ! To this day, he looks at the schematics rather then read the “directions” to assemble anything.
I grew up in a home where, if it didn’t work, you took it apart and figured it out. My wife absolutely had no idea that was possible, because she grew up in a home where little girls didn’t use tools. I knew I had “won” when she brought home a junk-picked recliner. When she picked it up, she told the guy “My husband can fix anything.”
Protip: If you’re good with your hands, first time your SO (note the absence of gender here) asks you to hang a picture, nail your finger to the wall. It will hurt like blazes but you have NO idea how much trouble it will save you in the long run.
I don’t like to waste time.So, I read the instructions first, then assemble.(this is particularly helpful because the hardware packages are for multiple products so those extra screws are not a mistake you made when you assembled things)I ask directions.If I’m looking for something in a store I ask for help.
I once applied at TI for a job writing owner’s manuals. Even though the author of a book on camping that made two editions and was a month’s selection for two book clubs, and several how to articles on a variety of subjects, I was told that I needed a degree in electronic engineering. It told them, “That is your problem; only electronic engineers can understand your manuals. You need to teach me how to operate the product, I write a manual that your customers can understand, and everyone will be better off.” They could not understand such a radical concept.
I run a technical writing department, and I hate getting a bad set of instructions. I once had a boss that actually rewrote the instructions and sent it back to the manufacturer. They offered her a job! I have two rules for my writers – 1) Keep it short and simple when possible (we write medical device manuals, so that isn’t always possible) and 2) Write it so that anyone who follows the instructions step by step, even if they are not an expert, will have no problem getting the correct results. I also make them all sit at an instrument and follow along, because that helps them accomplish #2. I don’t require them to be experts in the field we work in when I hire them. I actually find it detrimental. They just need to know how to write and spell!As for no longer getting a printed manual – that’s because it saves the company hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. We saved roughly $2 million the first year we stopped printing. And those other languages are there, because it’s a requirement in some countries to provide translated documentation (depends on the type of product). More than you all wanted to know about those instructions, huh? ;)
I use a windows desktop computer. Xmas brought an android Zenpad10 inch tablet. It came with NO MANUAL. I’m goin’ nuts trying to figger out how to use it. All the little icons are indecipherable pictures only 1/8 inch square that I can’t see even with glasses (I have everything set displayed as “large”) and they are right next to each other so I’m constantly picking the wrong thing. The button that gets the most use is the “back button”.
No Problemo TomoDachi.Compuende?All you need is 3 years Service in the 7th fleet back in the sixties sailing the south China Seas and all that PidgeonJinlish is as easy to understand as your In-laws at Christmas!
Templo S.U.D. almost 9 years ago
Yeah, real men don’t read assembly instructions.
LuvThemPluggers almost 9 years ago
,,and it’s in 5 different languages, none of them English, with illustratons by Picasso.
Retired Dude almost 9 years ago
I always find the instructions useful in figuring out what I did wrong.
Linguist almost 9 years ago
My grandson, when he was small, exhibited an engineering mind for construction.. Consequently, many of his toys were things like transformers and when he got a bit older, model planes, cars etc.He never read the instructions. From the time before he could read words, he would say he was reading the constructions ! To this day, he looks at the schematics rather then read the “directions” to assemble anything.
cubswin2016 almost 9 years ago
The dog knows Earl very well.
jtviper7 almost 9 years ago
As a kid you learn with a ’ Erector Set ’.
dutchs almost 9 years ago
I grew up in a home where, if it didn’t work, you took it apart and figured it out. My wife absolutely had no idea that was possible, because she grew up in a home where little girls didn’t use tools. I knew I had “won” when she brought home a junk-picked recliner. When she picked it up, she told the guy “My husband can fix anything.”
Protip: If you’re good with your hands, first time your SO (note the absence of gender here) asks you to hang a picture, nail your finger to the wall. It will hurt like blazes but you have NO idea how much trouble it will save you in the long run.
wlbr549 almost 9 years ago
Three of the most dreaded words … “some assembly required”.
nosirrom almost 9 years ago
I don’t like to waste time.So, I read the instructions first, then assemble.(this is particularly helpful because the hardware packages are for multiple products so those extra screws are not a mistake you made when you assembled things)I ask directions.If I’m looking for something in a store I ask for help.
CarolinaGirl almost 9 years ago
got my son a basketball goal for Christmas… first thing on the parts list was “2 capable people”
Number Three almost 9 years ago
I never really use manuals. Apparently, My new TV which I got for Christmas didn’t even come with a manual.
xxx
abbybookcase almost 9 years ago
the dog is right. ikea directions are rarely helpful, and sometimes counter-productive
hippogriff almost 9 years ago
I once applied at TI for a job writing owner’s manuals. Even though the author of a book on camping that made two editions and was a month’s selection for two book clubs, and several how to articles on a variety of subjects, I was told that I needed a degree in electronic engineering. It told them, “That is your problem; only electronic engineers can understand your manuals. You need to teach me how to operate the product, I write a manual that your customers can understand, and everyone will be better off.” They could not understand such a radical concept.
Leslie Azor Premium Member almost 9 years ago
I run a technical writing department, and I hate getting a bad set of instructions. I once had a boss that actually rewrote the instructions and sent it back to the manufacturer. They offered her a job! I have two rules for my writers – 1) Keep it short and simple when possible (we write medical device manuals, so that isn’t always possible) and 2) Write it so that anyone who follows the instructions step by step, even if they are not an expert, will have no problem getting the correct results. I also make them all sit at an instrument and follow along, because that helps them accomplish #2. I don’t require them to be experts in the field we work in when I hire them. I actually find it detrimental. They just need to know how to write and spell!As for no longer getting a printed manual – that’s because it saves the company hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. We saved roughly $2 million the first year we stopped printing. And those other languages are there, because it’s a requirement in some countries to provide translated documentation (depends on the type of product). More than you all wanted to know about those instructions, huh? ;)
Petemejia77 almost 9 years ago
BAH! It’s not that hard!
Ryan Plut almost 9 years ago
I use a windows desktop computer. Xmas brought an android Zenpad10 inch tablet. It came with NO MANUAL. I’m goin’ nuts trying to figger out how to use it. All the little icons are indecipherable pictures only 1/8 inch square that I can’t see even with glasses (I have everything set displayed as “large”) and they are right next to each other so I’m constantly picking the wrong thing. The button that gets the most use is the “back button”.
chain gang charlie almost 9 years ago
No Problemo TomoDachi.Compuende?All you need is 3 years Service in the 7th fleet back in the sixties sailing the south China Seas and all that PidgeonJinlish is as easy to understand as your In-laws at Christmas!