Is there such a thing as a "Dumb question"?

[mrmitchell]

I ask this question seriously.

Questions are inherently smart in that they expose a desire to learn.

However, some questions are so blindingly obvious that their intelligence is in doubt.

Are there dumb questions? Or just dumb people? Or people who are dumb only while they're asking the questions?

[Lefty Scaevola]

Per the Demotivators Calendar from Despair, Inc.

"There are no stupid questions,
but there are lots of inquisitive idiots."

[Ecthy]

There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

Just like "that's a stupid question".

Unless someone else asks one.

[GePap]

Yes, there are stupid question, though most fall into the "that has already been answered" category.

[The Andy-Man]

'Is there such a thing as a "Dumb question"? '


thats the dumbest question i have ever seen....

[Kuciwalker]

A desire to learn doesn't make one intelligent.

A question can convey the stupidity of a person, by showing that they don't understand even simple things.

It is a BAD thing to have questions. It is a good thing to ask them. If you don't have questions, you already understand it. If you do have them, however, it is a good thing to ask them.

[Asher]

"If I jump off a 10000000 foot tall building with nothing to stop or break my fall, will I die?"

Now, would somebody like to argue how that is not a stupid question...

[Kuciwalker]

If you don't know the answer, it is not stupid to ask it.

However, not knowing the answer is stupid.

[Kuciwalker]

Technically, as stupidity is the incapability to process information (well), and a question cannot process information, all questions are stupid

[MrFun]

Maybe there is such a thing as dumb questions. I find it really annoying when people are so desperate to find a way to start a conversation with someone, that they ask someone if they're doing something, that they obviously are doing, like:

"So, you're washing your car today, huh?"
"No, I just like to get my car wet for no good reason."

"So, you're studying right now?"
"No, I just like to read textbooks for FUN."

"So, you like to play chess?"
"No, I'm playing chess right now, because I hate playing it."


duh, people

[johncmcleod]

"So, you're washing your car today, huh?"
"No, I just like to get my car wet for no good reason."

"So, you're studying right now?"
"No, I just like to read textbooks for FUN."

"So, you like to play chess?"
"No, I'm playing chess right now, because I hate playing it."

I really hate it when people give those answers. I might be just trying to be polite and start a conversation and they give some dumb answer. When people ask questions like that it is because they are looking for more info. Why can't they just answer like a normal person and say this:

"So, you're washing your car today, huh?"
"Yeah, I just went on a trip through Wisconsin and there were a lot of muddy roads, so my car needs to be washed."

"So, you're studying right now?"
"Yeah. I have a big test tomorrow"

"So, you like to play chess?"
"Not really. I'm just bored right now."

[Goingonit]

There are also questions that are semantically null. "When is Spain?" I think that qualifies as stupid.

[DanielXY]

"If I jump off a 10000000 foot tall building with nothing to stop or break my fall, will I die?"

Actually the answer to that question is no. If nothing will stop or break your fall, you obviously will never touch the ground
Ok eventually you will starve...
/jackass

[Goingonit]

If you don't jump off the building, you will still die, it will just probably take a couple decades.

[mrmitchell]

10,000,000 feet?

That's ~2,000 miles...several factors go into play on that one. You're probably high enough (dunno) to break away from Earth's gravity, so if you've got a space suit with a life support system, you should stay alive for a couple of hours.

If you are falling to Earth, what is terminal velocity again? It will surely take a while to hit the bottom.