Stupid questions.
The old axiom of, "there are no stupid ?'s" only applies to small children; yet, I've noticed many adults that still seem to believe this - and I say they seem to believe it because they ask stupid ?'s.
So, for future reference, I figured I'd list what differentiates stupid ?'s from good ones.
1) All possible answers give the same result (therefore rendering the ? moot).
2) Answering the ? supplies no new information to the asker.
3) The info supplied by an answer is already enbedded into the ?.
(or data supplied immediately preceding the ?)
4) There is only one answer possible based on the logic in the ? itself.
Of course rhetorical questions don't count (since they are meant to be stupid).
I'll have add in some examples in this list....
for #1, "Do we have free will?"
Since both yes/no give the same result the question is stupid.
for #3, The kid was sick, I get up to give him medicine. I read out loud the dosage to Lee, then proceed to give it to Zman. When I get back into bed she asks, "are you sure you gave the right dose?"
(Even if I gave the wrong dose, of course I thought I gave the right one, so the only possible answer is yes).
for #4: At work person A give us a list of compliances, we then check off if we meet them or not, then A goes thru what we didn't meet and either approves it or disapproves it (meaning we must change to comply). When this was explained to us one person asked, "What if we check off we comply, and A doesn't approve?"
So, for future reference, I figured I'd list what differentiates stupid ?'s from good ones.
1) All possible answers give the same result (therefore rendering the ? moot).
2) Answering the ? supplies no new information to the asker.
3) The info supplied by an answer is already enbedded into the ?.
(or data supplied immediately preceding the ?)
4) There is only one answer possible based on the logic in the ? itself.
Of course rhetorical questions don't count (since they are meant to be stupid).
I'll have add in some examples in this list....
for #1, "Do we have free will?"
Since both yes/no give the same result the question is stupid.
for #3, The kid was sick, I get up to give him medicine. I read out loud the dosage to Lee, then proceed to give it to Zman. When I get back into bed she asks, "are you sure you gave the right dose?"
(Even if I gave the wrong dose, of course I thought I gave the right one, so the only possible answer is yes).
for #4: At work person A give us a list of compliances, we then check off if we meet them or not, then A goes thru what we didn't meet and either approves it or disapproves it (meaning we must change to comply). When this was explained to us one person asked, "What if we check off we comply, and A doesn't approve?"