Asking the Wrong Question
07 Sep 2017
What is a question?
The Merriam-Webster website defines a question as “an interrogative expression often used to test knowledge.” Questions serve an important role in all aspects of life as a means of improvement. To learn you have to ask questions, to be an expert you have to answer questions. It is this routine cycle of asking and answering that impair our ability to ask the correct questions. I believe, that by asking smart you will gain more knowledge than what the question originally asked. Thus, that leaves just one question: How do you ask a smart question?
What is a smart question?
The Smart Question
Mr. Hendrix asked the brilliant community of StackOverflow a simple question. Immediately, I can tell that this is a smart question because I have no idea what is Java HotSpot or JIT. By reading the question I know exactly what I am getting myself into, how to recreate the issue, and what Mr. Hendrix is asking. As a result, my next step of action is this:
I can not answer this question, and that is a good thing because the question was not made for me. This smart question is for a person more experienced in Java HotSpot, JVM, and JIT. In an hour and 30 minutes, that person came and answered the question. Finally, everyone got what they wanted and in such a short period. On the contrary, a not-so-smart question requires an all nighter.
The Not-So-Smart Question
This question was asked by a random user on StackOverflow. My first response to this question would be another question, not a good start. The original question is unclear, lacking the information needed to even start discussion of the problem. At this point most people would do this:
Instead of getting an answer, the author received even more questions. This defeats the purpose of the question in the first place, causing frustration on both sides. A question needs thinking, research, and time to get the correct answer in the shortest amount of time. Otherwise, your question is ignored or in this case, put on hold until clarified.
Why am I doing this?
Asking a smart question is difficult because you have to answer all the other questions beforehand. I find this is the hardest step as you have to be truly dedicated to finding the smart question. This may include compiling a test case, searching Google, reading a manual, or reading a book. It is even possible that you find the answer during this searching and do not ask a question. If so, rejoice! If not, you now have all the knowledge necessary to ask your smart question. People will see that you tried your best and will be more willing to help, knowing that you want to learn.
As an aspiring engineer, it is important to respect your colleagues’ time by asking the smart question. Asking a simple question will receive a simple answer. So the question remains: How do you ask a smart question? My response: Search the web.