Some people seem to have strong opinions about the way they do things. Sometimes it seems like "Everyone else is an idiot. Blue IS the best color".
Personally I didn't use RTK and I do think it is better to learn kanji along with words rather than as abstractions with often-counter-productive keywords.
But I certainly wouldn't say I am down on the Heisig method or on Heisig-sensei himself (who has been a respected professor in a prestigious Japanese institution and certainly is proficient in Japanese - the things people write without bothering to check!)
If I have expressed some negativity about the Heisig method it is not because I think it doesn't work or that no one ought to do it. It is more that there is a strong current (possibly the dominant one in self-learning at the moment) that says you have to start by learning all the kanji in the abstract, as Heisig-sensei did and recommends.
I don't think that would work for me, or would be the best method for me even if it did. I don't doubt that it is the best method for some people. But I do like to get it out there that it isn't compulsory and it isn't the best method for everyone.
Tae Kim-sensei, by the way is opposed not only to the Heisig method but even to Anki. He believes in learning vocabulary organically by massive input. I also believe that to be the best way, but find pragmatic use of Anki (as a secondary support to massive input) to be an acceptable shortcut/compromise.
However, different approaches suit different people, and yelling "Blue IS the best color" doesn't achieve much (I don't accuse Tae Kim-sensei of doing that, by the way).
Besides which everyone really knows that the best color is pink（⌒▽⌒）
Personally I didn't use RTK and I do think it is better to learn kanji along with words rather than as abstractions with often-counter-productive keywords.
But I certainly wouldn't say I am down on the Heisig method or on Heisig-sensei himself (who has been a respected professor in a prestigious Japanese institution and certainly is proficient in Japanese - the things people write without bothering to check!)
If I have expressed some negativity about the Heisig method it is not because I think it doesn't work or that no one ought to do it. It is more that there is a strong current (possibly the dominant one in self-learning at the moment) that says you have to start by learning all the kanji in the abstract, as Heisig-sensei did and recommends.
I don't think that would work for me, or would be the best method for me even if it did. I don't doubt that it is the best method for some people. But I do like to get it out there that it isn't compulsory and it isn't the best method for everyone.
Tae Kim-sensei, by the way is opposed not only to the Heisig method but even to Anki. He believes in learning vocabulary organically by massive input. I also believe that to be the best way, but find pragmatic use of Anki (as a secondary support to massive input) to be an acceptable shortcut/compromise.
However, different approaches suit different people, and yelling "Blue IS the best color" doesn't achieve much (I don't accuse Tae Kim-sensei of doing that, by the way).
Besides which everyone really knows that the best color is pink（⌒▽⌒）
Edited: 2016-06-05, 4:54 pm