If we for instance take, as an example, someone thoroughly explaining something which is clear to 99,9999% of the earths adult population don’t you think the remaining .0001% could come up with some? I get that this community is a place to allow people to ask questions they can’t or won’t ask elsewhere but I certainly feel stupid sometimes when I ask questions while attending courses etc.
So bottom line, how do you ask questions when you feel stupid?
I have long believed that the only stupid question is the one that hasn’t been asked.
I feel it’s better to ask the question (and feel stupid for a few minutes) than to remain stupid for the rest of my life. :)
I’d agree but add that a question can be stupid if it’s asked in an intentionally obtuse or malicious way
That’s not stupidity though, that’s malice, which is a whole different tub of bananas.
Fair enough, also +1 for ‘whole different tub of bananas’ Ahahaha
Exactly. There may be a piece of knowledge that a person should already have, but not asking the question just means continuing to be ignorant.
I’ve always liked the saying ‘there’s no such thing as stupid questions, only people too stupid to ask and fix their own ignorance’
Yeah this is true! In my case it became more of a “I’ll Google that for a long time and just not learn it right now” I don’t know the fear of looking stupid was just too much I guess.
I do agree, and I see the benefits of asking the question. During my education however I would much rather Google things for hours instead of asking professors, which I don’t feel is the smart thing to do as the professor could probably have answered it in mere minutes. I did not take the smart route on that one though…
But your route taught you to research!
The point is to offer a place free of ridicule and generally expects realistic questions that may be embarrassing to ask.
And yet I love the questions that push the boundaries of what is stupid. Like what would happen if the Juggernaut tried push The Blob down.
Where as I thought this community was a place where no stupid questions were asked. I wildly misunderstood the title lol
Dang it, did I just miss the entire point of the community?
No stupid questions!
No, stupid questions!
Yeah should be named the second one
Try asking this in Stack Exchange and see the real answer
[Closed] Marked as irrelevant
I don’t think the distinction between “stupid / non-stupid” is the important one to make. The important distinction, imo, is between “honest” and “dishonest”.
If someone wants to honestly learn the answer to something, how could this be a stupid question? Even if all other people in the world do, in fact, know the answer, it still wouldn’t qualify as a stupid question if asked in good faith.
However, there are so many questions asked in bad faith and not coming from a desire to learn something. These are the real stupid questions.
So, to answer your question: if you’re feeling stupid for asking something, just think about your intentions: do you ask because you honestly want to know the answer? Go ahead, and know that in this case there are no stupid questions - only stupid answers.
That’s a good way of looking at it, I like the way of thinking of it as “do I want the answer” and the distinction you’re making between honest and dishonest rather than stupid or not!
I live by “every perfect rule has 1 exception”
I’m sure there’s a stupid question out there, I’m also certain that I’m the one who’s asked it.
That’s actual a nice way to look at it! Didn’t think to apply the old every rule has ask exception but that feel really obvious in this situation as well.
