Why do we ask stupid
questions?
There is no such thing as a
stupid question but there sure are a lot of inquisitive idiots. This applies to people who
initiate questions by themselves. See the cartoon below. “Better to
remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all
doubts.” This refers to people who reply when they are
faced with questions. I am sharing a problem in communication and stupid
questions here.
Many times my daughter accuses me of asking
stupid questions. They are not always
meant to be so nor said with that intention. It is the result of a racing mind
filled with sixty interpretations of half a sentence actually heard. I am
gifted to be partially deaf – I hear only first half or the second half and try
to make out the other half: first half, if she is nearby and second half, if
she is far away say in another room. And the result is my blurting out something
that is seemingly coming out a stupid unthinking idiot. Many times this happens
when I deeply engrossed with some work and the other person takes me by
surprise / shock by suddenly talking from nowhere. So my daughter makes special
efforts to draw my attention and then only say the actual words meant to be
communicated without any transmission loss.
How not to reply impulsively, is my problem.
If I become attentive or pose so, the other person becomes nervous or annoyed –
why such a drama during ordinary conversation, she asks. For instance, when my younger daughter rings
me up and I pick and say: Hi, What’s the news?, she gets annoyed. What could
possibly go wrong in just about twelve hours, she thinks.
Is
the behaviour due to indifference, anxiety to say something and get off,
inability to comprehend what is said quickly? Is it hearing problem? Being immersed in work
almost akin to deep sleep? In this post I have dealt with only replying to
posers. Not initiating stupid questions myself. That requires more unthinking
on our part.
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