Been there, done that

A term I saw the other day rang a bell with me.  “Supplement not substitute.”  I had not seen it put that way, but I know it is so easy to find out all about something without knowing something from personal experience.
It seems to me it is why on tv when telling about a persons life, interviews are conducted with people that spent time with the subject.  It seems to me I could study all the books on weight lifting, but if I never weight lift the books are merely a substitute for doing rather than the actual doing.  It is one thing to be an expert on a subject through reading, and another to be an expert through doing.
I have found it incredible when I have done all the reading I can on say putting together a barrier and then what it was like when I did it.  All the reading was helpful for sure but the doing of it meant some things were better tweeked.  So often I have in my mind the way a certain thing will go, but when I do it, it is different to a point.  The job gets done and done well in my mind, but invariably the process of actually doing it demands the personalization of what I have read.
The reason I feel confident with a lot of tradesmen is they have done it many times.  We had our garage door fixed.  It was incredible to me how the person, when confronted with the problem, knew what to do.  The reading was helpful for sure, but it was the doing many times, and the fixing of the problem many times, that led to a quick and satisfactory fix for us.
I could read all about Obama and study all the books on him.  But it would be no substitute for spending time with him.  Only then could I say I have heard about him, but I actually know him.  Study is one thing.  Experience another.
To me there is a big difference.  Learning about is no substitute for experience.  I know I do well to remember that.  At the moment I am studying.  Study is best a precursor to doing.