Has someone ever asked you asked you a question that immediately made you think “That’s a dumb question.” If you answered yes to this dumb question then you’re just like the rest of us. Questions are a vital part of the learning process and yet, some questions have the power to invoke the opposite response. If you ask a dumb question like “How do I code this” or “Who is Han Solo,” often times you will simply get a dumb answer or even outright ignored. This negative cycle of dumb questions and dumb answers is a detriment to society and can be prevented with a simple solution: ask smart questions.
Asking smart questions are the key to bringing up smart answers which leads to a nice, intelligible discussion that promotes learning for everyone. Often times a dumb question, if actually answered, can only get a straightforward answer with little follow-up leading to the end of the discussion. I’m not saying that a smart question can’t be a straightforward one because even a question about a very specific problem can bring up a variety of answers This could be similar to that of a math problem having multiple solutions. The questions that I’m talking about however, are those that invite others to join the conversation and offers a chance for many to show their intellectual prowess and add to the learning experience. For example, Dimpu Aravind Buddha asked “Can (a ==1 && a== 2 && a==3) ever evaluate to true” on stackoverflow and this question brought up loads of discussion over something that a lot of people are willing to learn about. This question is one that invites discussion from perspectives of many proficient individuals who would like to offer their insight on the topic which in turn leads to the learning of those that found interest in the question itself. Questions like these greatly benefit society from an intellectual aspect whereas we have questions, I guess you could call it a question, like “NSLayoutConstraint problen “ which was asked by Sarvad where the question itself even has a spelling error. Needless to say, the content of the question wasn’t that great either and the answers gave off the impression that this was indeed a dumb question. A question like this doesn’t add much to the betterment of everyone and probably won’t even be looked at by others that hope to gain anything. This clearly shows the difference between the discussions of good and bad questions and how much they can offer to people other than the one asking.
All in all, if you want to ask a public question, try to make it a smart one. Dumb questions are often put aside and offer little benefit from answering as well. With a good question, everyone can gain something from answering the question or reading the answers to it which contributes to the cycle of learning for everyone. This has taught me a lot about what to ask and how to ask when I run into trouble and the next time I think to ask “My code doesn’t work. Help…” I’ll be sure to think twice about it.