Inspired by this thread
I think that if someone is just a beginner (at anything) they should be told what is the best way to do something, instead of being given all kinds of options to choose from. Knowing all different ways of doing something is the mark of the expert, not the novice. If he’s interested in becoming an expert, then he can learn all the ways. Why not let him just get the job done instead of wasting time trying out all the options?
Management guru Ken Blanchard agrees with you. He conceives of decisionmaking as a four-step ladder. When someone is a complete beginner, you tell him what to do (with explanations to the extent he’s knowledgeable enough to appreciate them). Then as he grows in understanding of the task, you offer him options, you discuss them, but you make the final decision. The next step is discussion the options with him but lettin ghim make the call. And then finally you let him run his own area autonomously, checking in from time to time to make sure you’re on the same page.
I haven’t found that this works with any formality in practice, but it’s a good rubric.
–Cliffy
You gotta learn the rules before you can break them.
I agree with you, but…
What if the best way to do something involves skills or resources that the beginner does not have? The best, easiest way to cut a miter in a piece of wood is to use a power miter saw. The novice, almost by definition of asking the question, does not own a power miter saw. The novice may very well own a regular saw, and have no easy access to a rental store to rent a power saw. In which case, if the only answer given is to use a power miter saw, the novice may be left feeling that the job is undoable when there are many options available, even if slightly more difficult.
Same thing with, say, boning a chicken. How it is the same is a mental exercise left up to the reader.
I think your rule shows too much rigidity of thought. There very well may be some situations where it is best to show a beginner only one method but I don’t think it applies most of the time let alone universally.
It’s reasonable to not overload a beginner with information but a short list of methods to cut miters isn’t going to strain a doper’s brain, at least I hope it would not. I would rather give someone credit for his intelligence and help him make his own choice.
Insisting that there is one unambiguously best method for any process shows a bit of arrogance. The OP was not at all specific about anything other than cutting miters and you made the assumption that a power miter saw was the only choice. Did you consider his budget? If noise and sawdust plumes from a power saw are accptable in his work environment? For all I know he may be trying to cut stock too short to safely hold or clamp in a power miter saw. I think that suggesting a relatively safe and inexpensive hand tool is a good idea, not one that should be witheld from a beginner.
In any event I think that giving the OP an incomplete answer, that there is only one way to do the task, it counter to the mission of SDMB. Fight ignorance!
Yes, but only if you make it clear to the beginner that it is harder than #$(*% for a beginner to cut a good clean miter with a regular hand saw.
You must have missed this in the original thread. I’m not saying it takes absolutely no skill but cutting in a miter box can be quickly mastered by a beginner.
You should take two Mormons fishing because if you take only one he’ll drink all your beer. No, crap! That’s not it either.
Well, yeah, in that case you have to give him another option. Hopefully you and he can have a discussion about what skills and resources he does have before you can recommend a method. I still think you should recommend one method based on your knowlege of the person’s situation.
So Can Handle the Truth, what information did you get from the OP that made you sure a power miter saw was the only possible choice?
It seems to me that you could lead with “the best and easiest way is a but you can also do it by options b and c.” In the specific case you reference:
The best and easiest way is using a power mitre saw, which you can rent from any home improvement store if you don’t have one. If you don’t want to rent one, you can use a backsaw with a mitre box, also available at any hardware store.
The correct answer, though, is highly dependent on the situation. If I’m teaching someone to play 42, for instance, I might play a few hands with the dominoes turned face up and explain why each move is made, why to lead with the trump double or not, how to punt safely, etc.
I used my psychic powers. 
So… does that mean you can cut boards in half with your mind? Wow. I didn’t see that coming. 
Especially here on these boards, knowledge is power. The OP in the miter cut thread didn’t ask what was the easiest way to cut a miter cut, nor what was the cheapest or “best”. He asked “what tool do you use to cut it that way?”
If I came here and asked about possible ways to launch a payload into a stable Earth-orbit, I would expect to get a whole list of possibilities. If I asked how do people keep weeds out of their grass lawns, again I would expect a list of methods. If I ask how do I cut 2 boards at 45° angles so that they make a clean 90° angle, I would be astonished if only one possibility was offered.
In my opinion, the answer to the OP depends on the circumstances. In many cases, having the beginner try lots of different methods is fun for the beginner. This can be particularly true in recreational or creative endeavours. Telling the beginner “Do it this way” could hamper their enjoyment of the process.
On the other hand, if there’s a penalty for failure (for instance, running a nuclear power plant) you might want to tell them a particular way to do things. Or if they’re apt to get frustrated, or if there’s limited time, then a more rigid approach may be preferrable.
1 - The OP is a novice woodworker (for even asking the question).
2 - The OP is female (from the user name) so might prefer a power saw to hand saw – OK, I’m a male chauvenist, sue me!
3 - It’s probably cheaper to rent a power miter saw for a day than to buy a miter box, saw, and clamps, etc. that would be needed. Don’t tell me there’s nowhere to rent it from unless they’re in Mongolia.
Tell that to these guys.
2- Anyone would prefer a power saw to a hand saw. Anymore, cutting miters by hand is something that experts do to “be more authentic”, not something anyone would do given a choice.
3- Lots of small towns out ther that would require a 1 hour round trip to rent a power miter saw. In that case, perhaps doing it by hand would be a viable option.