Links located at bottom.
Do dumb questions actually exist? Answer: sort of. But lets not call them dumb questions. In actuality the question itself is not dumb, but rather it lacks any effort from the inquirer that demonstrates any deeper interest in the subject matter. A better name for these type of questions are low effort questions. An example of these low effort questions would be a student forgot to do their homework so the day before its due decides to post on a forum asking for help. Probably takes the form of a picture of the worksheet or the question typed out word for word and a request “please solve”. These types of questions show the rest of the members of the site that the poster has no further interest in this question other then getting an answer. It doesn’t demonstrate any type of understanding of the subject matter. Its hard to help someone if you dont know the expertise of the inquirer. Give a techincal answer and the person might not understand. But it takes a lot of effort to explain everything in basic terms. So more often then not, low effort questions will be ignored or made fun of.
An example of this can be found at the bottom of this essay. The poster gives a list of letters and then asks how to compute every non repeating combination possible. Looking at a lot of the answers, a low effort question results in a low effort answer. A few just gave a link to the python manual, the rest of the comments just ammounts to them recommending the person go and do more research, some offering suggestions on where to start.
So if those are the characteristics of a low effort question, how do you ask a good question? A good question should demonstrate a basic understanding of what you are asking. Let the rest of the members of the website see you have put time and effort into solving this probelm. Let them know what you want to do and what you have tried. Rather then asking them to solve the whole problem on their own, point them to the part of the problem you are having trouble with. A concise question is a lot easier to answer then a broad one. By following these guidelines, more people will be willing to help you.
A good example of this is also posted at the bottom. The poster starts off their post with the main question followed by their ideas on how to solve it. They then go on to explain why they want to do this and how it would work. By doing this, everyone understands the poster’s goal can offer better suggestions. The extra information that was included in the post also helps to paint a better picture of the problem. Which then further aids in the quality of the suggestions.
The easier you make it for someone to offer suggestions, the more you will recieve. This also extends to the way you present the problem. If there are a lot of spelling errors that make it hard for people to understand your post, the less likely they will be bothered to try and offer help.
Wording our questions in this manner also helps our thinking. Much like the WODs of this class, putting some thought and reaserch into the subject will help you better comprehend the subject matter. You don’t become a better driver by riding shotgun.
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