How to study openings?

Beginners are taught to play e5 against e4. Is e5 the appropriate reply for beginners? I propose d5 as the most practical reply. Scandinavian Defense should be the 1st opening or defense lesson.

If you are proving a point related to what was actually said, why not refer to what was actually said?

I'm proving that studying fundamentals is more useful than studying opening theory, for beginners.

Why? Because the utility of knowledge of a single line cannot be generalized, while fundamentals can. I would encourage you to read the other comments in this post. 

In this thread, did anyone give that advice?

Is memorizing-a-line the only form of learning about an opening. (See the Nunn quote above.)

Block him and move on, or prepare to nail one foot to the floor, and run around in circles.

Is it asking too much that you go back and read the comments in the post?

So, you don't want to assert that anyone gave that advice to thekokohead?

"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)

I think the problem is that beginners don't apply the principals at all. They think to themselves, "yes, development makes sense, I will do this in my game" so they do it for 1 or 2 moves, but then they forget.

But sure, after the beginner level, if a player is taking it to the extreme then it's bad. It's bad to be dogmatic in general because chess isn't a game where a list of rules makes you good. But in the beginning I think rules (like the opening principals) are useful, and I think players should challenge themselves to follow it as best they can. For example playing a move like h3 or h6 might be comfortable, but they should challenge themselves to play an uncomfortable move like developing and castling and trust that their position is good enough to survive the tactics.

It is fine with me if thekokohead wants to choose the Collins book. I would just suggest giving consideration to some of the alternatives identified in post #2.

Are there those who seem to think that some understanding of consequences, plans, thinking processes, etc. can be usefully assisted by some discussion of openings?

"... 'Journey to the Chess Kingdom' ... is primarily intended for children ... Chapter five deals with opening principles, while chapter six provides an overview of the most popular chess openings. Importantly, the emphasis is on giving insights and explaining ideas and principles as opposed to advocating mindless memorization of long lines. ..." - WGM Natalia Pogonina (2014)

https://www.chess.com/blog/Natalia_Pogonina/book-review-quotjourney-to-the-chess-kingdomquot

A U.S. National Master gave a talk to the high school chess club I coached and astonished some of the members when asked what his favorite opening was. He replied, "Any opening that gets me to a playable middle game."

Whenever I analyze my games, win or lose, I look at how well I was able to achieve a good, secure, threatening position AFTER the opening.  When I coached my high school players, I taught them openings that tended to lead to predictable middle games.  At the time, the Bishop's Opening had been out of favor for 60 years - Kasparov hadn't played it yet - but we rode that opening to county and state scholastic trophies: play f4 around move 5 before playing Nf3, castle O-O-O. launch a Pawn Storm on the King-side, backing it up with Rooks.  Similarly, the Richter-Rauzer Attack against the Sicilian Defense castles Queenside.

Chapter 2 of Keres' and Kotov's The Art of the Middlegame, "Strategy and Tactics of Attacks on the King" - which I copied and required my players to study - are the best 50 pages of chess instruction I've ever read and, among other things, tell you how to decide if opposite-side castling is advised, based on the fact that Pawn Storms generally win the game and how to determine if yours will work better than your opponent's (advanced Pawn Positions, none of your Pieces in the way, opponent's Pieces in his way or having to flee your Pawns).

For Black, the French, Caro-Kann, and Slav Defenses often attack on the Queenside, often using ...c5 to get things rolling.

So, when you studying opening principles and openings, make sure you study what middlegames those openings tend to lead to.  Do they let you point a lot of pieces at your opponent's King?  Do they sometimes trap your opponent's King in the middle?  Do they create problems for your opponent to defend f7 and h7 or f2 and h2? Etc.

You study openings by finding out why you play moves, and learning what moves to play next.

http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Sacrifice-and-Initiative-in-Chess-77p3825.htm

http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2013/11/27/a-quick-review-of-ivan-sokolovs-sacrifice-and-initiative-in.html

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/984.pdf

tactics tactics tactics, then endgames endgames endgames. oh wait? do want to actually improve? or just think you are learning chess? if all you want to do is delude yourself that you are learning chess then by all means study opening theory and really rely on your engine,

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.

Play opponents who are better than you … . Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)

https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game

"... A typical way of choosing an opening repertoire is to copy the openings used by a player one admires. ... However, what is good at world-championship level is not always the best choice at lower levels of play, and it is often a good idea to choose a 'model' who is nearer your own playing strength. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)

You study an opening by making moves that follow opening principles and stop threats.