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Where do babies come from? ...you're 21?

Stupid questions - do they exist?

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    28

Surmonter

Hear No Evil
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    I hear people all the time say, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." But I hear just as many say there is.

    What do you think? Do you believe there are stupid questions, or do you think that curiosity cannot be stupid?
     

    PlatinumDude

    Nyeh?
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    Some questions aren't meant to be asked or answered. So I'm going with: yes, there's such a thing as "stupid questions."
     

    Phantasmagoria

     
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    I think if the answer is so bluntly obvious and it's right in front of their face, then I would say that it's a stupid question. Otherwise, if there is reason for the question, and it's not completely obvious to the person asking, then I guess it's not?
     
    Legobricks

    Legobricks

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    If someone wants to know something, they simply don't know, so there you go, answer them.
    A 'stupid' question is only going to be something which cannot be answered because nobody has yet experienced it, like "what if the sky were red instead of blue"; but it's not always obvious that nobody would know about something, and natural to ask any question given enough curiosity to the subject.

    I quite like this quote from a once teacher of mine: "the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask". If you ask, you'll found out what it is, but if you don't, it's guaranteed to be 'stupid' in the respect that you've defeated its purpose and being by not asking it at all.
     

    Dopefish7590

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    Any question that answers itself, or is amazingly obvious, or shows a person's ignorance, are stupid questions... Like asking how to breathe... Or what color that green Sedan is... Or reasking a question multiple times because they don't care for the answer. A golden stupid question I've heard would have to be "Who fed us before our mom was born?" xD
     

    Song Major

    It all ends with a Double Bar
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    dictionary.com: stu·pid [stoo-pid, styoo‐] ,-er, -est, noun –adjective

    1. lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull.
    2. characterized by or proceeding from mental dullness; foolish; senseless: a stupid question.
    3. tediously dull, esp. due to lack of meaning or sense; inane; pointless: a stupid party.
    4. annoying or irritating; troublesome: Turn off that stupid radio.
    5. in a state of stupor; stupefied: stupid from fatigue.
    6. Slang. excellent; terrific.

    Excellent example :

    Teacher : "So basically we should be fine."
    Student : "What if something happens?"
     
    Last edited:
    Legobricks

    Legobricks

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    Song Major said:
    Excellent example :

    Teacher : "So basically we should be fine."
    Student : "What if something happens?"
    Click to expand...
    The teacher says "should be fine". It seems perfectly reasonable given that it wasn't said they "will be fine" to ask what the student does. Even given that however, IMO the student would still be within their rightness of mind to be sceptical of one person's opinion.

    What exactly characterises "mental dullness; foolishness; senselessness" is itself a matter of perception, opinion; I think my contrary retort here shows that well enough — you think your example is good, I think it's bad, so who's correct? Rhetorical quesiton there, mind. My point is that by your (and many others') apparent logic every question would end up being called stupid by at least someone; so really, what becomes 'mental dullness'? If not the question, because now every question is stupid, then are their askers stupid? Which is tangential, ultimately not answering the question at hand. One could say stupid questions exist because stupid people do, but again, everyone ends up being called stupid by at least someone. Ultimately I believe you'll need a solid definition for 'stupid' based on measureable parameters, though I'm probably asking the impossible there...

    I guess I sound a bit over the top about all of this, so don't feel obliged to waste your time answering if you feel it that way, but this is a discussion board after all. :D
     
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    Synaesthesia

    lol
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    Stupid questions definitely exist. That expression only exists because of elementary school teachers who want to make all their dumb little students feel accepted, despite their stupidity.
     

    >Feelings<

     
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    There's not much stupid question in existence.
    Curiosity is almost never a bad thing. You just have to know how to ask the right kind of person.

    Really, what is exactly a stupid question? Something that is obvious in general? Something that you expect someone to know from the time they are born?
    I don't call them stupid most of the times.
     
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    Melody

    Melody

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    A stupid question is one that you ask for no reason at all, whatsoever. In essence, it's a question you ask even though you aren't asking it because you don't really know, or don't know you know the answer to it.

    A question is also stupid if it has no constructive intention at all. (Like asking a silly question just to piss someone off, like..."Are we there yet?" while on a road trip.)

    Still, it's generally unwise to call out stupid questions unless you're absolutely certain that someone is asking it to be silly. So theoretically, my definition of a stupid question isn't the dictionary definition of stupid, but rather embodies the definition of a silly question or an annoying question. Often times I word it exactly that way rather than calling it a stupid question. Calling it a stupid question almost always gets interpreted as an insult, so I don't do it unless I'm prepared to insult somebody.
     

    Song Major

    It all ends with a Double Bar
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    Cassino said:
    The teacher says "should be fine". It seems perfectly reasonable given that it wasn't said they "will be fine" to ask what the student does. Even given that however, IMO the student would still be within their rightness of mind to be sceptical of one person's opinion.

    What exactly characterises "mental dullness; foolishness; senselessness" is itself a matter of perception, opinion; I think my contrary retort here shows that well enough — you think your example is good, I think it's bad, so who's correct? Rhetorical quesiton there, mind. My point is that by your (and many others') apparent logic every question would end up being called stupid by at least someone; so really, what becomes 'mental dullness'? If not the question, because now every question is stupid, then are their askers stupid? Which is tangential, ultimately not answering the question at hand. One could say stupid questions exist because stupid people do, but again, everyone ends up being called stupid by at least someone. Ultimately I believe you'll need a solid definition for 'stupid' based on measureable parameters, though I'm probably asking the impossible there...

    I guess I sound a bit over the top about all of this, so don't feel obliged to waste your time answering if you feel it that way, but this is a discussion board after all. :D
    Click to expand...

    Back down from a challenge? No way! :P

    I guess it doesn't sound stupid if you don't know the situation. I don't quite remember what happened, but I do remember the teacher thoroughly explaining the situation before the student asked the question. And the bold was actually meant to highlight the foolish/senseless part.
     

    Captain Hobo.

    Posting King
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    Yes, there are stupied questions like if somebody just answered it and then somebody asks it.
     

    RYOUKI

    survive the world.
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    Yes, there are such thing as stupid questions. Mostly, I think stupid questions are made out of boredom, if a guy really ask "Where do baby comes from" and he's 21, I don't think that's a stupid question, it's because he didn't know, so it wouldn't be pointless? idk what I'm saying here but still.
     

    BareBones

    The kids are all messed up.
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    ...Yes. Stupid questions exist.

    "Hey you, you who lost your parents! How're you gonna spend mothers day?" is a stupid question.
    "Why is Batman called Batman?" is a stupid question.
    "Why do you read books?" is a stupid question.

    There are more, but I can't be bothered to type them all out.
     
    Banjora Marxvile

    Banjora Marxvile

    hOI!!!!!! i'm tEMMIE!!
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    BareBones said:
    ...Yes. Stupid questions exist.
    Click to expand...
    BareBones said:
    "Hey you, you who lost your parents! How're you gonna spend mothers day?" is a stupid question. Not really, just really ignorant and insultive, but if the person genuinely doesn't know and is curious, then it is worth asking, despite being the wrong thing to ask. And anyway, foster parents get the mothers day things.

    "Why is Batman called Batman?" is a stupid question. Not really, if they don't know what he looks like, and only hear he is a hero. He dresses like a bat, sure, but he could have sonar senses like bats.

    "Why do you read books?" is a stupid question. How is that stupid? It's like asking why is your favourite colour blue. Why do you read books - to pass the time, or I enjoy them. Not stupid to me.

    There are more, but I can't be bothered to type them all out.
    Click to expand...

    My responses in bold in yours. I didn't find them stupid questions, as they do make sense to ask to me, well... The top is inappropriate to some people, but if you wanted to know, you'd ask, but not like that I guess...

    Anyway, the way I see it, stupid questions are only stupid if people perceive them as that. Often, the person who asked don't see them like that, but everyone else does. It is how you see things, I guess. I find asking "why are boys seen as better than girls" stupid, as we are equal in nearly every way, but some find it a genuine question. I don't think I worded it right...
     
    Platina Berlitz

    Platina Berlitz

    Pure bliss
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    There are a ton of stupid questions. I have a nametag on it my work place and someone asks "Do you work here?" I count that as a stupid question
     
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