I\u2019ve heard pretty much my whole life that there\u2019s no such thing as a dumb question. I remember in grade school one of my teachers always telling us that the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I hear someone say that, my initial reaction is that that\u2019s absolutely false \u2014 there are<\/em> dumb questions, and people are out there asking them on a regular basis. The world is full of stupid people and they say stupid things. Now here\u2019s the disclaimer \u2014 like just about everything on this blog, this is just from my perspective, my opinion. But here\u2019s the thing \u2014 no one person (not even me) gets to be the judge and jury about stupid or dumb questions. What may be a dumb question to me could be fascinating or interesting to someone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I have to admit that some seemingly dumb questions may be asked deliberately just for the purpose of testing someone\u2019s reaction or opinion on the subject of discussion. And I have to admit that sometimes when a stupid question is asked, the person asking it may seem stupid at first but in the end, they\u2019re learning something new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Carl Sagan once wrote that there are monotonous questions, naive questions, tedious questions and ill-phrased questions, but every question is a cry to understand the world. That sounds kind of nice \u2014 a little like Mark Twain\u2019s quote, \u201cHe who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I\u2019ve gotten older, I\u2019ve tried to become more tolerant of dumb questions, among other things. But I haven\u2019t been very successful\u2026 I\u2019ve come so far as to admit that there may not be such a thing as a dumb question, but there is<\/em> such a thing as a dumb person asking a question. I\u2019ve heard pretty much my whole life that there\u2019s no such thing as a dumb question. I remember in grade school one of my teachers always telling us that the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. When … Continue reading
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