No such thing as a stupid question!

Thank you, Blogadda, for selecting this post for the Tangy Tuesday Picks!

“The more important a question, the more unlikely it would have an answer”- A tweet posted by me on Twitter.

Follow me on Twitter! Twitter ID: @gopinathmm

My tweet was posted after several questions were raised by the television news channels after YSR’s helicopter went missing some time ago. “Why do you think so?” Asked a good friend of mine, to which I had no answer! Why do I think so? An important question, I thought! So that’s what I replied, “Too important a question…don’t have an answer”.

Having said that, was it indeed so? I wondered. So let’s look at the types of questions that one is faced with from time to time.

Ten Types of questions

1. “Nobody knows everybody cares” type – Investigation agencies, Commissions set up etc. will investigate these forever, but these mysteries may never be solved Unknowns remain unknowns and as time passes the answers elude us until it becomes impossible to get to the truth. These questions will crop up after every tragic incident and will haunt us until we move on to newer events and newer mysteries. Do people today want to know how Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose met his end? Forgotten, isn’t it? e.g.

a. Who killed Aarushi Talwar? Will he/she ever be brought to book?
b. Was the YSR helicopter tragedy a result of flouting safety norms?
c. Who is responsible for the Thekkady boat tragedy?
d. Will Afzal Guru and Ajmal Kasab be hanged for their crimes?

2. “Nobody knows Nobody cares” types – could be great to write about, though. e.g.

a. Which came first the chicken or the egg?
b. Why did the hen cross the road?

3. “What the experts think” – Important questions which only experts are expected to answer – but there are several experts and each one thinks differently, why not? One wonders whether we do have the right answers, after all? Readers/viewers’ queries are included in this category of questions. e.g.

a. Where will the stock markets go from here?
b. Will the real estate prices rise or drop in the next few months and years?
c. Gold? Dollar? Interest rates? Inflation?

4. “When will you do this?” type of question. More of a command really in the guise of a question. (generally from one’s spouse, but then not always), One may not get a proper answer- and results / actions aren’ guaranteed either. e.g.

a. When are you going to clean up the clutter?
b. When are you going to decide about this or the other?
c. When are you going to finish your work?

5. “What do you think?” Opinion poll kind of questions. As if it matters! You have your say but opinion is often divided so we find the stats on the screen to the Question of the Day at the end of the program. Nobody wins, nobody loses and nobody knows for sure. e.g.

a. Is the change in the educational pattern good or bad?
b. Has the RTI Act helped curb corruption?
c. Will the nth pay commission make Government jobs more attractive?
d. Should Archie marry Veronica or Betty?

6. “Why did you do this?” Tell us why - your reasons for your choices. There may be many reasons, but the one you tell will be the socially popular one – not necessarily the one that tilted the decision in its favor. e.g.

a. Why did you change your job?
b. What made you want to leave the country?

7. “When are you going to grow up and learn?” More a venting of frustration than a question seeking answers. The answer is known: Never - but hopes remain! e.g.

a. When are you going to grow up and learn to think for yourself?
b. When are you going to make up your mind about our new furniture?
c. When will Mumbai be able to tackle the flooding during the monsoons?
d. When will our politicians ever own up responsibility for their lapses?
e. When will we be free from the scourge of corruption?

8. Quiz Questions– Time to show off your knowledge base. You may have an answer here! After all you’ve been working on these trivia haven’t you? e.g.

a. Who is the world’s tallest living man?
b. Who is the oldest living person in the world?

9. A Good question - “ That’s a Good Question!” It could be any awkward question, a question that one was hoping wouldn’t be asked or even one which is so tricky that you needed time to decide how to respond and take a few breaths before you begin to answer, so just say it “That’s a good question!”

10. A Stupid Question – At the end of a training session, we have a Q&A session, which invariably begins thus: “There is no such thing as a stupid question. Ask any question!” So I ask the question and after the Q&A session, he concludes “How can questions be stupid? But people who ask them can certainly be!”

Have I missed out on any other types of questions?
Readers are encouraged to write in with their comments, instead of wondering:
“Whatnonsanz! Why the hell did I have to read such a stupid post?” Or
“Does he have to post such nonsanz stuff when he has nothing to say really?
“What kind of post is this?”
Btw, if you want to know the types of blog posts - do read this post by Shilpa Garg here.