The rule of thirds is one of those things that you'll find in every beginner's guidelines... think of it as something like "Photography For Dummies".

It's like someone telling you that you can only walk on the left side of the road (the safest side when cars are driving on the right) when going out for a picture hike. But what if you find something interesting on the right side of the road..? Or even on the middle of the road ;o)

We do not see things as they are. ǝɹɐ ǝʍ sɐ sƃuıɥʇ ǝǝs ǝʍ