Darth Avlectus Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 In an attempt to inject a little fun into this subforum in htis oppressive heat, I beg a phillisophical question. Is there such a thing as a dumb question? I hear: "No" "The question isn't dumb, but the person asking is" "maybe" "yes" "yes and so is the person who asked it" "yes, but the person is still smart" "no, it's just that everyone else is messed up" Have fun with it. Personally, I don't think there is any such thing as a stupid question, but maybe the person asking just has their head in other places or wasn't quite paying attention as to how they asked whatever their question. Discuss. (And please, keep it civil--I don't want to see anyone get a cattle prodding...well maybe I do, but not here.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Yuthura Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 This is a stupid question for a serious thread. I'm all for it. I would say that the only time you have a stupid question is when you could have obtained the knowledge by yourself... without too much additional trouble than asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Web Rider Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Yes, however, IMO, it depends on the person, the question, and the context. If you are on the net, and someone(also on the net) asks you what the URL for "Google" is, that's a stupid question. Not paying attention can amount to a stupid question. Since there is rarely a good excuse to not pay attention and then ask what you missed, it's safe to assume they had no desire to pay attention, and no desire to know what they were being told. Therefore the later desire to know what they missed is contradictory and inherently false. Making their question stupid because it is a waste of everyone's time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bimmerman Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Absolutely, unequivocally, yes. Examples: --"Does this make me look fat?" --Bumping a two year old for sale thread asking if said part (which is listed as sold) is still available. --etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jae Onasi Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Yes. There are stupid questions, such as calling information and asking "What's the phone number for 911?" The stupidest question I ever got asked was by a freshman girl in college when I was a junior. How she made it into college I don't know with a question like this: "If tomorrow is Tuesday, does that mean the next day is Wednesday?" My reply, trying very, very hard not to laugh out loud: "Well, Wednesdays generally follow Tuesdays, yes." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Anything where you could just as easily google it than waste someone's time asking them, when all they probably do to find the answer for you is google it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trench Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 -How do you spell FBI? -Do you know a good recipe for spam? -(asking someone who's practically turning red) Am I getting on your nerves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totenkopf Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Anything where you could just as easily google it than waste someone's time asking them, when all they probably do to find the answer for you is google it. Naw, that's just called being lazy. Yeah, asking a pimp if you can have a free sample of his wares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimartin Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 -Do you know a good recipe for spam? This thread. I'd say it all depends on who is doing the asking. If a two year old is asking any of these questions, then it is a sign of intelligence (or a sign of a need for some serious parental lifestyle changes in the case of Totenkopf's example). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Yuthura Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Anything where you could just as easily google it than waste someone's time asking them, when all they probably do to find the answer for you is google it. Disagree. My father is a walking encyclopedia. He can answer almost anything if you ask him about it. Names, how events relate to one another, and the psychology behind what people were like when they acted. My cousin has a PHD in studies about the middle east and he has mentioned how my father could trump him at the very thing he specialized in. I find that if I need to ask a question and not spend 15 minutes googling it, I know he'd have the answer. What's more is that he can expand upon what I would originally have wanted in ways I never anticipated. That's not a stupid question if you wanted to ask about Ben Franklin's part in the Albany Congress. Odds are he'd know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynk Former Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Is there really any such thing as a stupid question? That's a stupid question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trench Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 That's a stupid question. -Are you sure that's a stupid question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Yuthura Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Okay, how about some opinions, reasons, or extrapolations... Given that there are an infinite number of potential questions one could ask, all you need is for one to be stupid in order to say 'yes, there is such a thing as a stupid question.' You just need to take into consideration that 'stupid' is a relative term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astor Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Yes, I believe there is such a thing as a stupid question, but, as Yuthura points out, what I might consider stupid might not be so stupid to the person asking the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Shake Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Is there really any such thing as a stupid question? Yes, look up Yahoo Answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urluckyday Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I believe south park has my ideas covered: Mr Garisson: "Remember there are no stupid questions...just stupid people" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I mean, what's a stupid question? No, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth_Yuthura Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I mean, what's a stupid question? No, really. A question who's answer was so obvious that a person didn't have to ask in the first place. Jae's example would qualify as such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderWiggin Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Yes. _EW_ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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