Meet Them Halfway
27 Jan 2022I want it, and I want it now
Good, honest, and expressive communication, is by far, such a widely useful skill to master and continuously develop. You need communication in everything: the relationships that you build with your family, your friends, your partner, and even as a student! Nowadays in our upcoming society where everything is just snap instant, you learn that a lot of people are starting to lose patience for things. Why would they need to, when normally things like calling a taxi is just a click away? …Getting updates on someone is just a scroll away on their socials? When getting an answer to something is just a type away into a search bar? There’s always a need to be on the go, to be productive, to be busy, or to not have time or patience to sit down and do things thouroughly, because we want them done in snap instances, and we’re used to getting them all in, well, instances.
There are no stupid questions…well I beg to differ
Nowadays all the answers you need are available to you on the internet with a search away. Although a powerful tool, it can quite easily become a crutch for people who don’t really want to put effort into learning or understanding the concepts, but only want an instant answer for a graded assignment or to pass a class. A quick deviation, but you know how in high school, some of your teachers would say, “Come on now, don’t be shy, if you don’t know something or you don’t understand something, ask. There are no stupid questions.” Well I beg to differ, and so would Eric Raymond. In How to ask questions the smart way he talks a little bit about how software engineers love a good stimulus, it’s the hard questions that provoke thought and exercise the brain, and in general provide questions in a public space for people with shared technical interests to be inspired and collaborate. Instead these forums end up being demeaned by “people who seem to be unwilling to think or to do their own homework before asking questions.” These ignorant questions can take away time and space from genuine people with an interest in learning the details behind how a program works and not just simply to find a quick “answer,” because they couldn’t be bothered to read through and do a quick self-initiated research.
Funny story, I once had a psychology teacher that used the previous phrase with a twist, and he used to say, “There are no stupid questions, only stupid people,” and at the time, I thought this phrase was kind of mean to say to a group of developing high school teens, but after reading How to ask questions the smart way I can kind of see how it relates. The stupid people are the lazy people. They avoid struggle and stay stuck. Even if you lack knowledge, you will never really be stupid as long as you’re open-minded and willing to accept the struggle and continuously seek ways to learn from it and escape ignorance.
Acknowledging the Struggle
So now you’re probably wondering, “Larissa you’ve been going on for quite a bit about stupid people and stupid questions, so what does a smart question even look like then??” Good question! Some of the precepts to a smart question at the very least is an attempt to do some of your own research on the questions beforehand, try to find the answer elsewhere, as it might have already been posted. Then, if you haven’t found anything about it, demonstrate or communicate what you have learned in your attempt to research it. It gives people a baseline for what you do know about it. Try to do some thinking on your own, and let it marinate before giving up and rushing to ask after a failed research attempt. And then this one seems like a no-brainer, but put some thought into your question! Think before you phrase it and do some research on any assumptions. before asking
Here, I have an example of a smart question. This person thoroughly communicates their background on the subject and what they are trying to do, which is using HTTPURLConnection to connect a web service. Then they communicate the areas of struggle, which is understanding the logistical areas/points of connection in the server, all throughout communicating what they do know. Importantly, it’s clear, it’s concise, it’s easy for others to reply to. In the questions where they phrased their area of struggle, it ends up showing that they actually know a decent amount about it already, did research beforehand, and shows their willingness to fully understanding it. The question title also pertains to the subject and isn’t a desparate cry for help. If you look at some of the replies, because they communicated so effectively their question and confusion, many people were willing write out a thorough reply and address their confusion in simple terms.
Too lazy to struggle
This here is an example of a stupid question. Their question is “How to send 100,000 emails weekly.” First off, this question is off-topic, and has actually been closed because it doesn’t even fit Stack Overflow’s fit for a Q&A format. It’s not really supported by any fact or requring of expertise help. Such a short question shows failure to do their own research and ignorance, and is easily matched in energy in the responses. I think an answer for this could have easily been searched in google, and could have saved time and space from experts who use Stack Overflow for actual technical problems and program help. The replies to this question are also exasperated and place emphasis for the question asker to actually do work.
Do the Work!
Provided both of these examples, we have an idea for what makes a smart question. If you want to read more, I really recommend Raymond’s essay. The internet is such a resourceful tool, but it should be used as such, and not as a cop-out for homework or wasting other’s time. The pressure of procrastination and failure can lead to groveling and arrogant entitlement for a quick answer, and while such a “simple or dumb question” could easily be answered, it could also just as easily be researched and found on your own with a little bit of commitment to learning. In the world of software engineering, success is built for those who aren’t too lazy to do their own work! It’s okay to ask questions, but work through the struggle first. Ask the smart questions from the experts thats what they’re there for, but first…Meet them Halfway!!