Re: Current Index of SANS GSEC Materials?

[Brad Andrews <andrews () rbacomm com>]

I could index the books without reading it.  I am in the process of  
reading through all of them now, along with a second listening to the  
course by Eric Cole on mp3 audio.  I would still prefer I had an index  
so I can focus on the reading, not the indexing, since the act of  
doing that has nothing to do with learning the material.  :)

I would also argue that you have to know the material to be able to  
apply it quickly, even if you can find it.  Or at least you should if  
the test is really good.  If these certs are just knowing what page to  
look on then they aren't as strong as I had hoped!

A good test covers more than just "trivia".  Though as I noted, I have  
not taken this test yet, so I do not know how much it focuses on  
trivia.  (If you have taken it, I am not sure how much you are then  
allowed to comment.)

One though comes to mind is also that it is possible to miss a key  
term when preparing your own index, which is why prepared indexes are  
so useful in good books.

Also, how many people who pass prepare an index of the materials?  If  
it is not many, which I suspect, then it is really not that valuable.   
I doubt the people taking the course Eric Cole teaches on the mp3  
audio files made an index.  In fact, he never suggested it for the  
parts I have covered so far, so I doubt it is as serious of an issue  
as some are making it seem.

If it is serious, then making it should almost be a requirement.  If  
not, then it should not be a problem to share it.

Am I also violating the "rules" if I have some CISSP prep books around  
when I take the test, since these cover similar material and are  
already indexed?  I certainly won't have read all of them at that  
point.  :)

Brad

Quoting Michael Hale <eyeronic.design () gmail com>:

> It's a way to make sure you go through the materials.
>
> Any idiot can pass the test with the electronic versions of the books.
>  But if you have to go through the book and make your own index, it's
> a virtual guarantee that you have to at least look at the pages and
> see what's in there.