Elin, note that I was specifically addressing logical learners, which is admittedly a very low percentage of people. I essentially support the Heisig method, but not Heisig's application of that method, if that makes any kind of sense--and again, that's only for a specific neurological demographic.
Even where the radicals diverge strongly from logical meaning in a kanji, many make more universal sense than some of the crap you have to UNLEARN from him, which is aimed more at visual association rather than conceptual association. (though I still think of the assault, folding chair variant as "taskmaster" because some of them aren't counterproductive)
Basically, he uses a logical system, but aims it at right brained memorization, which is useless to those with weaker right brain function (who are already at a disadvantage in visual memorization).
Gare, yes yes yes. Like any hookers, text hookers are a tool, not a teacher.I recommend using more than one dictionary (with Translation Aggregator), and looking up anything questionable. Mostly, it's just a means to actually apply knowledge and read Japanese in context, because playing with no aide, or looking up literally EVERYTHING you don't know can be really daunting, and just as tedious as rote study.
