Any Questions?
24 Jan 2024
“There’s no such thing as a stupid question!”
A person’s learning career lasts an entire lifetime whether within an academic institution, the workplace, or the myriad of experiences that help shape their personal development. With the rapid progression of the world’s technological marvels, it has become easier than ever to access information on a legion of topics across the globe. This same wonder has made it possible for anyone from anywhere to learn anything. Now more than ever, this idea is highly relevant to one’s learning process. Staying curious and asking questions is a foundational principle while learning as it allows others to put pieces of a puzzle together.
Though it may seem relatively straightforward, the ability to ask questions in a thoughtful, strategic way to get reliable answers is easier said than done. Growing up, teachers commonly encouraged students to ask questions and constantly reminded us that “there is no such thing as a stupid question!” Though, their responses to other students by giving occasional annoyed looks and having angry outburst have led me to believe otherwise. ‘Not so smart’ questions exist. Fortunately, there is glaring hope as there are steps we can take to avoid becoming victims of this pitfall.
What is a not so smart question?
To ask smart questions, it is important to be mindful of what the opposite term means. A ‘not so smart’ question are often presented in an informally lackluster way, typically being too vague or broadly specified.
This is an example of a not so smart question on StackOverflow.
Note: The post has since been deleted. See below for the original entry.
I have linked the javascript code to my html code, but the script doesn't get applied.
Hey, I'm a complete beginner at javascript. I have generated codes for a model website that uses html, css, and javascript with chat gpt. I have properly linked my html code with css and javascript, but the effects that I anticipate from my javascript don't get applied to the html code. Can you review my code and tell me why? https://github.com/ilwoongchoi/javascripttest. above is my github repository for my model project. Thanks.
The provided ‘question’ is an example of this issue. The user’s post lacks significant information as to what they are trying to accomplish. It mentions that they have used HTML, CSS and JavaScript, but fail to mention what exactly their model website is trying to do. This lack of attention-to-detail is an issue since it makes it more challenging for potential helpers to provide meaningful and targeted responses. As a result, the post has currently been viewed 39 times, has no replies and received 4 downvotes. Instead of their initial request to just review their code, the user should have given useful background information that allows other people to understand what their program is trying to do.
In a guideline article about asking ‘smart questions,’ Eric Raymond advised that the person asking must be explicit with what they want the responders to do to help. Doing this results in better chances of getting a useful response since it poses less of a time commitment to respondents. Also, the user did not describe the goal they had in mind. Instead, they chose to give a link to their GitHub asking for others to review their code. Clearly, this has not been well-received as demonstrated by the downvotes of their post and its eventual deletion.
How are smart questions proposed?
This is an example of a smart question on StackOverflow.
Eric Raymond says that a smart question must be both precise and informative. The question given above is an example of this. The author of the post started by describing the goal they had in mind, as well as what steps they have taken so far in order to get to this point of their inquiry. They also include their progress and thought process concerning the code of their program. Although brief, the user was able to discuss their problem explicitly and was able to receive several replies that help answer their question. Notably, the post includes a follow-up note, which aligns with Raymond’s advice on his article.
Why should we follow suit?
The ability to ask smart questions is not only a valuable knack to have within software engineering but in various facets of growth as an individual as well. The way in which a question is proposed is a major aim for improvement since it could mean the difference between receiving meaningful responses to a query, compared to the disdainful looks that a poorly written question may get.