You are right, I may have painted with too broad a brush. But in times past it was a somewhat common event around here. You would have people spending big bucks on material, some partially finished trees, and then criticize those who don't do it the way they do it. This is not so pervasive as it once was. Of course this is a good thing. We have had a tendency in the past to cling on to our particular idea to the exclusion of all others, even going so far as condemning other points of view. You may see this in the subject of soil.
The statement that you can learn from the people that have the best trees is rather vague. I guess it depends on the meaning of, having the best trees. You can go out and purchase world class trees, if you have a world class income, you can even hire some master to take care of your trees for you and do all of the maintenance and styling work. That does not necessarily mean that you know dog crap from tofu about the care and styling of bonsai. It just means that you have a love for bonsai and the resources to indulge it at a high level. I am not saying that this is bad, it is of course not bad. Every art has it's supporters, I am simply trying to clarify what was said, in essence equating great trees with great talent and great knowledge.
