Any Questions?
24 Jan 2023
“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. In the face of 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 the pieces of a puzzle together and make connections to how it links back to otherworldly enigmas. However, this capability in itself is another level of skill to acquire.
Though it may seem relatively straightforward, the ability to ask questions in a thoughtful, strategic manner to get reliable answers is easier said than done. Growing up, it was a widespread phenomenon that when my teachers encouraged students to ask questions, they constantly reminded us that “there is no such thing as a stupid question!” However, responses to other students have provided the occasional annoyed looks and sometimes slight outbursts, which have led me to believe that my instructors’ begged to disagree. ‘Not so smart’ questions exist, but fortunately, so too do they come with the glaring hope that 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 entails. A ‘not so smart’ question often highlights those which are presented in an informally lackluster way, frequently with their posed inquiry being too vague or broadly specified.
This is an example of a not so smart question on StackOverflow.
The post has since been deleted. Here is 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 even 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 costly, 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, with 4 downvotes. Instead of their initial request to simply review their code, the user should have provided useful background information that allows other people to clue in on what their program is trying to do. In a guideline article about asking ‘smart questions,’ Eric Raymond advised that the person asking the question must be explicit with what they want the responders to do to help. Doing this results in an increased likelihood of getting a useful response since it poses less of a time commitment to respondents. Additionally, the user failed to describe the goal they had in mind, and instead chose to give a link to their GitHub asking for others to review their code. Evidently, this has not been well-received as demonstrated by the downvotes of their post.
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. Furthermore, they 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 generate 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 in these footsteps?
The ability to ask smart questions is not only a valuable knack to have in the field of 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.