Is there ever a 'dumb' question?

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

A few hours ago, coworkers were chatting and one said 'Let me ask you a dumb question'. The obvious response came back, 'Sure, there are no dumb questions'.

So I related an instance where I was in a public astronomy display late one evening on the roof of a hotel.

A young lady there asked the lecturer the same thing and he replied the same.
Then she asked, "Where does the light from the moon come from?"

My friends who were with me at the display and I agreed, "Okay, maybe there IS a dumb question after all."


Well, the coworkers didn't feel that it was a dumb question... given the education system and how kids listen today.

Just curious, is light reflection an 'education issue'.. or just common sense?

Inquiring minds and all that.............

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. sometimes people should make an effort to educate themselves as an adult

[PVnRT]

2. There are no dumb questions, but lots of inquisitive idiots

[quip]

9. Funny, but true. Not everyone has the same education level, so what is informative to one

might be Kindergarten stuff to another. There will always be someone smarter and dumber than we. As with most things.

:hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

3. Common sense isn't a constant

It ain't all that common, either. :)



It'd be much dumber, IMHO, to want to know something and not ask.

[Jamastiene]

4. Bingo n/t

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

11. Hear hear!

... but then, once told, how do you know the answer is correct? <grin>

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. You look it up on Teh Internets

Just to be sure, y'know? ;)

[Dr. Strange]

19. On the contrary, the sum of all common sense is constant.

Unfortunately, the population is increasing, so, uh, you do the math.

[Connonym]

5. I don't think it's dumb

what I think would be dumb is losing the opportunity to learn something because you were afraid of people thinking you seemed dumb by asking. That's what I always thought was meant by the expression "there's no such thing as a dumb question"

[krispos42]

6. Bill Nye the Science Guy got in trouble in Texas for saying that

A bunch of freeper types left in a huff when Bill spouted the heresy that the Moon was illuminated by <gasp> sunlight!

http://bsalert.com/news/1990/Bill_Nye_Bood_In_Texas_For_Saying_The_Moon_Reflects_The_Sun.html

Bill Nye, the harmless children's edu-tainer known as "The Science Guy," managed to offend a select group of adults in Waco, Texas at a presentation, when he suggested that the moon does not emit light, but instead reflects the light of the sun.

As even most elementary-school graduates know, the moon reflects the light of the sun but produces no light of its own.

<snip>

But nothing got people as riled as when he brought up Genesis 1:16, which reads: "God made two great lights -- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars."

The lesser light, he pointed out, is not a light at all, but only a reflector.

At this point, several people in the audience stormed out in fury. One woman yelled "We believe in God!" and left with three children, thus ensuring that people across America would read about the incident and conclude that Waco is as nutty as they'd always suspected.

http://bsalert.com/news/1990/Bill_Nye_Bood_In_Texas_For_Saying_The_Moon_Reflects_The_Sun.html

:eyes:

[Westegg]

16. Wow. That's... incredible....

..."We believe in God," and therefore the sun does not illuminate the moon?

Wow. I'm-- no, nevermind, nevermind. I can't even begin to... Oh! That's fucking mind-blowing.

[montanto]

18. "we believe in God"

Well, that explains the eclipse that happens from time to time. It's God's thumb, He puts it over the moon to show you how big he is.

[skygazer]

7. I work in a grocery store

I field dumb questions all day.

Probably one of the most amazing occured at about 6am one day. I was in the front lobby putting up a display. The doors were open - I don't mean unlocked, I mean physically open. The lights were on. A checker was in the checkstand ringing up a customer.

And some idiot walked in through the door, past the sign that says, "OPEN 24 HOURS!" and asked me,

"Are you open?"

:wtf:

[Rambis]

8. Yes-Can I have a sip of your beer?

An acquaintance used to do that! Piss off was always the answer and no I am not buying you one you ****

[DS1]

10. To the person who just had his hands torn off by an industrial lathe

the standard American "Are you okay?" might sound pretty dumb.

[JustFiveMoreMinutes]

12. Ouch! or 'Does that hurt?'

[Javaman]

14. Yes and I have examples...

to quote, "where do you take video tapes to be developed?", end quote.

second item up for inspection, "was that good for me?" Does it really matter what context it was used in?

and lastly...

"was Virginia on the side of the south during the civil war?"

All these questions were asked by a, ah hmm, reasonably intelligent person of 37 years old.

[NewWaveChick1981]

15. That WAS dumb. And so was the question I heard on Tuesday evening...

...when I ran to the hobby/craft store for some paint my husband needed. I got to the register to pay for said paint, and the cashier (about 18) looked really confused. She was on the phone with someone and obviously had no idea what the caller was talking about. She put the caller on hold and asked the manager to take it while she rang up my sale. The manager said, "What is muh-nor-uh? I've never heard of it." I told the cashier, "A menorah is a candelabra used primarily during the Jewish holiday of Hannukkah." She told the manager, "It's a Jewish candle thingie." :eyes: The manager told the caller that they didn't carry anything like that. It was totally obvious that those two had never heard the term "menorah" in their lives.

"What is muh-nor-uh?" is a dumb question. I still have a hard time believing that people have never heard about basic things like that, but then again I have to remind myself how ignorant most people are around here. :eyes:

[EstimatedProphet]

17. That really isn't a dumb question -

Assuming of couurse you live in Mesopotamia around 3,000 BC.

For today, it's pretty fucking dumb.