Doug,

>Still, don't you think that those who "know the rules" make much better decisions as to when to break them than those who do not?

I guess my position is that I choose to just do things "right" as I perceive them without any consideration or even interest as to whether they are following or breaking rules. To me the rules are product of the process - not the other way around.

To illustrate - I spent a number of years teaching improv on the piano. When I first developed my "rules" to train newcomers to improv - I did it by examining and quantifying what I did naturally without thinking about it. And guess what - there were "rules" that I DISCOVERED I naturally followed. However, if I had ever tried to learn to do this starting with the rules, I don't think I would have ever succeeded as a musician. This also manifested itself with the students. while most could understand the rules I gave them - it was clear to see that "some had it and some didn't".

Plus - when I broke a rule - I didn't actively think about it - it just happened because it sounded good or was a cool thing to do. It was only if I took time to examine it that I discovered it "boke my rules" - and If I did it enough - it became it's own new rule.

Keep in mind that My philosophy here - for both music and DB/App development acknowedges that there must be a base level of proficiency gained through practice and expereince and an understand of core concepts. I am talking about a higher level in my argument.

Thanks!
Ken