Cooking and following instructions

Cookbooks are fascinating. You can try out different cuisines just by following instructions from a book. I know very little about cooking so oftentimes I try my best to follow each and every step on the recipe. One evening, I cooked with my friend who knew more in terms of cooking. That night, he was following a recipe from one of his friends. I noticed that unlike me, he didn't closely follow every step as described. He followed information on how each ingredient should go; however, measurements were mostly left to his discretion.

As I observed him, I realized that most people who know more in terms of software or other products tend to use the manual the same way as my friend used the recipe. People get certain information, but they are more adventurous in terms of doing things that were not specified on the manual. People who are intermediate to experts are usually not scared to try out what they know, even though sometimes it may mean making some mistakes.

What I've observed shows that each type of user utilizes the manual differently. There are manuals that are to be strictly followed, and there are those that are more open to deviations. Whatever the manual is, the most important thing is it should be written and formatted in an easy to understand manner.