# Stop asking questions, you don't need to know everything!



## Napoleptic (Oct 29, 2010)

How often are you made to feel like a child because of your insatiable curiosity?


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## Cheveyo (Nov 19, 2010)

Napoleptic said:


> How often are you made to feel like a child because of your insatiable curiosity?




More often I'm told I'm an idiot or an asshole for asking too many questions.



First thought that popped into my head after reading the title:


> Stop asking questions, you don't need to know everything!


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## TheClog17 (Oct 25, 2010)

The resounding comment which apparently came out of my parents' meeting was that I asked far too many questions. The general opinion of many of my teachers was that I understood enough to pass the exams, so why did I need to know any more? 

Don't think there were many NTs among them...


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## Magnificent Bastard (Sep 22, 2010)

Teachers (not professors) tend to be SJs bent on instilling compartmentalized knowledge into children's minds. They treat children's minds like a bookshelf that needs ordering. Quite sad, really.


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## Promethea (Aug 24, 2009)

I'd rather do research than ask, anyway. People often aren't the best source in a conversation because they don't remember pieces, and many of them won't admit when they just don't know - so they make something up to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. Its why I don't really give a shit to debate with someone either. If I have a reason to question something, then I'll just go read about it. Its more accurate that way.


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## Whimsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I ask questions just to see how people react, not to get factual information. I enjoy pushing buttons so when I get a reaction like "stop asking so many questions" or, more commonly, "how can you be so insensitive" I know I've won.

So, Napoleptic, why are you asking?


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## The Exception (Oct 26, 2010)

I've gotten this alot throughout my life.


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## toe tag (Dec 1, 2010)

I like this question. You know how my mom solved my endless questioning problem? She got me a computer with internet. Now I crash the browser every now and then because of the amount of active tabs.


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## Onomatopoeia (Nov 2, 2010)

Whimsy said:


> I ask questions just to see how people react, not to get factual information. I enjoy pushing buttons so when I get a reaction like "stop asking so many questions" or, more commonly, "how can you be so insensitive" I know I've won.


I do the same thing. This is particularly entertaining for me when it's an open group discussion.


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## Apollo Celestio (Mar 10, 2010)

That's the issue. I DO need to know everything. I'm more often made to look childish due to my lack of interest/knowledge in things sexual.


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## Diphenhydramine (Apr 9, 2010)

Luckily I had a childhood where asking questions was encouraged, both in school and at home. Well, by adults anyway, not by peers, but still.


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## TheClog17 (Oct 25, 2010)

Diphenhydramine said:


> Luckily I had a childhood where asking questions was encouraged, both in school and at home. Well, by adults anyway, *not by peers*, but still.


Ulgh. People at school can be seriously frustrating when I start to ask "too many" questions. There's one girl in particular who, when she thinks I've overstepped _the line_, makes some really snide comment such as, 'having a nice lesson on your own there'. You're very welcome to participate in my line of enquiry, or indeed, start your own. Just because you have nothing to contribute, don't start hating on me.

/end rant.


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## teddy564339 (Jun 23, 2010)

Magnificent Bastard said:


> Teachers (not professors) tend to be SJs bent on instilling compartmentalized knowledge into children's minds. They treat children's minds like a bookshelf that needs ordering. Quite sad, really.


While this is true of some teachers, really a lot of the blame for teachers being like this is (a) the school system being set up in a way where teachers and schools are held responsible for test scores, not learning, thus making it more difficult for teachers to actually teach, and (b) most students not being NT-like and not being able/willing to understand even the basics, much less extra information on top of the 

I say this because as an SJ math teacher myself, I do have students sometimes that will ask about extra information. While I do my best to answer these questions, the problem is that quite often when I try to do so, a bunch of other students in the class always whine about how they're so confused, and then I have to go back and re-explain the basics to them because they're too dumb to be able to keep them separate. 

The other thing that's frustrating is how so many students expect teachers to be perfect and to know everything. Personally I like it when students ask me questions that I don't know the answers to, and I like the idea of sitting back and testing out those theories to answer the questions. But once again, the problem is that whenever this happens, some students start whining about how I as the teacher should already know those answers, or that it's a waste of time to look at something that "won't be on the test". 



So anyway...I just wanted to throw that in there because even though some teachers out there just suck, the system that we deal with and a large number of students that we deal with wear us out so much to the point that we tend to brush off some things like this. I've gotten into the habit of telling students that if they really want to talk about or look into things beyond the required material, they can always come by after school and we can discuss them. I find that a good compromise in giving an opportunity to have their questions answered but not give me extra stress in class. Of course, they almost never take me up on the offer.


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## noz (Dec 7, 2009)

Often.... too often. My best friend growing up said my #1 problem was that i "over-analyzed everything" (he was ESFJ)

However, I've found putting my questions in the form of an SP-ese expressed possibility can make some become receptive to it.

Like if you're just sitting somewhere geeking around wondering how something works like a coffee machine, bitch about how you're tired of metallic tasting coffee in the mornings. Or say how some people get burned real bad from poor units with too much thermal conductance... "oh is this a fire hazard?". Throwing any kind of legal liability into the air usually is a good act of nerd subterfuge. Or read the newspaper and relate a bad story thats somehow related to what you want to know...

Of course, it still puts people off, but you avoid some stigma/alienation (or so I want to believe!)


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## pie (Mar 9, 2010)

> Stop asking questions, you don't need to know everything!


why do you have to be so bossy?


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## Diphenhydramine (Apr 9, 2010)

TheClog17 said:


> Ulgh. People at school can be seriously frustrating when I start to ask "too many" questions. There's one girl in particular who, when she thinks I've overstepped _the line_, makes some really snide comment such as, 'having a nice lesson on your own there'. You're very welcome to participate in my line of enquiry, or indeed, start your own. Just because you have nothing to contribute, don't start hating on me.
> 
> /end rant.


 Well school is pretty terrible - some of the classes I could get away with being smart, others it was just a drudge. Year 11 was better. Sixth Form was fine, intelligence admired (so long as you have the associated social skills to match, I suppose...), University is even better.


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## Phoenix Down (Jul 2, 2010)

Napoleptic said:


> *Stop asking questions, you don't need to know everything!*


 
Stop wearing seatbelts! You don't need a belt to stay seated!


----- Anywho -----


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## Diphenhydramine (Apr 9, 2010)

Phoenix Down said:


> Stop wearing seatbelts! You don't need a belt to stay seated!


 lol owned

also is xkcd actually popular out of the NT subforum?  (on perc, obv not the entire internet)


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## Napoleptic (Oct 29, 2010)

Whimsy said:


> So, Napoleptic, why are you asking?


Mostly just because I assumed this was common with NTs but didn't want to assume, so I asked. :happy:

What started me thinking about it (which is probably more what you were asking anyway) was that an NT friend had gotten clearly annoyed at my incessant need to know and understand people's reasons/motivations behind their actions, and I just thought that discouraging my desire for knowledge was odd coming from a fellow NT. Then again, that trait in myself can annoy _*me*_ sometimes (sometimes I'd like to just live in the moment, you know?), so I can't blame him. But it got me to thinking (*sigh* what doesn't?); thus this thread. :happy:


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## Whimsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Napoleptic said:


> Mostly just because I assumed this was common with NTs but didn't want to assume, so I asked. :happy:


LOL... so literal



Napoleptic said:


> ...(sometimes I'd like to just live in the moment, you know?)...


Indeed. Carpe diem. I sometimes envy people who can just accept the world as they find it instead of, like us, perpetually wondering why and how.

Most of the time, though, I'm grateful for that I never accept something at face value.


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