1+1 DOES equal 2 in my book - but having said that, most tutorials are written by people who either aren't well-grounded in what they are saying or just aren't writing it down well.

the other part of 1+1 not equalling 2 is the fact that most people take directions incredibly poorly, so those people do need to do rather than read.

i've given someple who can follow directions as written on how to get started and they all did well. i'm not the end-all be-all of webmaster knowledge, but what i do know i know from solid experience and i'm happy to share with anyone who really listens. the results were not identical but similar enough to confirm my belief that 1+1 DOES equal 2 in webmastering. and also that most people can't follow directions without adding or changing things to suit their pre-existing opinions.