It comes down to the fact that in many cases chasing the magic bullet is more fun than working on other aspects. But I think he is right about finding good teachers. Obviously, one has to learn things for themself, but teachers make such a huge difference if they are good. I never took a photo class in college or grad school, but when I started to get interested, I went to my local rental darkroom and found out that they offered free workshops every other week with their printer. The guy was extremely nice, and a great teacher. He really taught me a lot about not only how to make a technically sound print, but how to evaluate a good print to decide what to do to make it a great print. Similarly, I took an adult ed class on photoshop offered through the community college, and even though I already knew the basics, I learned a lot from the course. Photoshop, like the darkroom, is so multifaceted that it really pays to see how others do it. The darkroom workshop was free (you bring paper, they supply the enlargers, chemicals, and teaching), and the adult ed class was very cheap...perhaps 20 dollars.
