Yahoo! Answers announced this past week that it was closing down. This is bad news to those who used the question-and-answer website to learn about the world, but doubly bad news for the much larger population of people who liked to laugh at the dumb questions and dumber answers posted there.
Other questions highlighted in the screenshots include, "Would it be OK to spank my date on the first date?" and "I need a Badass, yet Sexy Gamer Name ;)?". The unusual capitalisation presumably makes it trickier to not get eaten by the undead.
Dead Boys and Dumb Questions
I once had to have dinner with a friend's hick family members. I spent the entire night fielding politically incorrect questions and avoiding making eye contact with the dead deer mounted on the wall. Still not as awkward as Ravi dealing with the zombie truthers.
To enhance creativity, we must develop and maintain an attitude of creative questioning. We must become competent in the art of "asking dumb questions," the first of which might be: "What is a dumb question?" While this question may sound naive, after all everyone knows what a dumb question is, the answer to this dumb question, like all answers to dumb questions, is not as straight forward as we might imagine.
Dumb questions are not accusatory or argumentative statements in disguise. Nor are they formulated with preconceived answers in mind. Rather, they are probing yet open. Used effectively, dumb questions lead to a deeper sense of reality, truth or purpose. They expand our capacity to see more clearly and inspire us to explore possibilities we would otherwise ignore. Above all they are interesting enough to encourage finding an answer.
First, get in the habit of carrying a notebook with you at all times. Use this notebook to record your observations, questions, reflections, insights and musings. Second, pay attention to the types of questions you and others ask during meetings, phone calls, or conversations of any kind. Notice the answers each question generates. Become aware of question/answer patterns. Keep in mind that dumb questions are born out of curiosity and as such encourage exploration. If you are not traveling uncharted waters, you aren't asking dumb questions. Record the best dumb questions. Listen to the questions children ask and the answers they give.
Keep your questions nonjudgmental, open and brief. Observe what happens when questions are judgmental, dead-ended or complex. Ask who, what, where, when, how, and why questions. Ask "what if" or compare and contrast questions. Pose option type questions. Be sure to vary the way in which you ask questions. Notice the type of questions you ask and the types you don't. Notice the answers you get and where they take you. Record your observations in your notebook.
McCartney wasn't as keen answering questions about being arrested and jailed for trying to bring marijuana into Japan, however, which caused Farley to call himself an idiot, then hit himself on the head in frustration and exclaim, "What a dumb question!" 2ff7e9595c
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