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As both a geek and a man I fall into the stereotype of not always reading the instructions on things that I purchase for myself. If it is a piece of equipment or a gadget that is nothing like anything I’ve used before, I usually do, but if it is something I think is familiar I tend to skip this step. Often times when I do not I find myself getting into trouble and when I ask for help the answer is usually RTFM (Read the Frakking Manual).
Case in point; I acquired some new audio equipment to further some multimedia projects next year (Spoiler Alert: one of them is going to be a monthly IGT podcast). My friend asked me to come record his A capella concert this weekend, and I gladly agreed. I thought to myself, “This would be a GREAT way to learn how to use my stuff!” I also thought to myself “it’s an audio recorder, it has to be simple to use”. Boy was I wrong. My ignorance caused me to fail to record audio for the whole concert on my device.
In this day and age many devices are similar to one another. This is what encouraged my thinking that I knew how to use the equipment. The problem is that difference devices are only similar to one another; they are never exactly the same. Even if you buy new camera A and have used camera B before, there is a good chance that the buttons are in different places, or are labeled differently enough that you do NOT know how to use it. This is why manufacturers spend the money to make these nice manuals for you.
With my epic failure I merely caused myself some embarrassment and frustration. With some products if you do not read the manual first you can possibly break the device or gadget. If the item requires assembly you may end up trying to force parts that do not fit together to mate and in the end breaking them. I have had this happen to me before, and yet I still fall into the trap of not RTFMing.
If you feel embarrassed or less of a man and/or geek admitting you need help from a small book or sheet of paper, just read it when no one is around. No one will know the difference and your friends and family will still be impressed that you have mastered such an awesome piece of technology. It will just be our little secret.
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