The original meaning of the work 'amateur' derives from the Latin
word for love, and meant, one who works for the love of it.
The word's meaning has mutated into a disparaging one, more's the
pity.  In western culture we're not allowed to admit we LIKE what we
do.  Too wierd.

alice

> Dennis Plunkett wrote:
> > Question for everyone->
> > Why do we think that people whom have a hobby of electronics are better?
> > Before you answer that contemplate this off the cuff situation:-
> > Do you care that your family doctor does not practice surgery as a hobby?
>
> I think that the word "hobby" here means;
>
> 1) you don't keep an eye at the clock at the wall when working on it,
>
> 2) you don't give up easily,
>
> 3) mostly when working a hobby you don't worry about the money involved
> as you can worry about other things prices,
>
> 4) you can feel pleasure to do it, so you will do it better.
>
> Yes, I would choose a doctor who feels pleasure to do a successful
> surgery, even if nobody will notice how nice and laborious were the
> internal stitches, rather than the one that is just thinking about the
> money.  It takes few more minutes to make nice stitches that won't leave
> scars, but only those who enjoy his job can do this "upgrade" for free.
>
> The word "professional" is someone that is well prepared to the job, and
> this also means lots of learning time and dedication, in great part
> found in people's hobby developed by practice and more practice.
>
> As an example, it is very difficult to find a hobby shop sales clerk
> that doesn't play with his airplane or racing car at the weekends,
> rather than a guy who keeps watching TV games and drinking beer all
> weekend long, even if this lazy guy is known as an "expert" in airplane
> models I would not trust him.
>
> All the great inventions were not done because somebody was paying the
> inventor to do that, but because the inventor's creativity, dedication
> and effort to do the extra step, most of the time to just feel happy and
> joyful that something extra was done, ended up in things that all the
> humanity enjoys today.
>
> Take a electronic hobby person and give him a project that will take 12
> months to be completed, than give him all the electronic instrumentation
> he needs, computers, books, manuals, internet access, components and
> all...  that person probably will not complain so much if the job would
> be done in a company, his home, garage or even inside a jail cell. The
> "thing" itself is what moves that person to do the job, not his boss,
> not his job responsibilities, not his low bank account.
>