One of my sister-in-laws (I have three) tends to ask lots of questions. These questions can be completely out of left field. They may have absolutely nothing to do with a conversational stream. Her questions can be odd, quirky, and, frankly, at times, somewhat inappropriate. But asks she does.
The questions she poses often are followed by, “It was just a question I had.” If I didn’t know better, I’d say she used this final phrase to simply excuse the question and any offense anyone may take. I would also have to say that her questions, as misplaced as they sometimes may be, can be a bit humorous.
At one family gathering many of us were sitting around the table. Much chatter was going on. She turned to my oldest son and asked, “Have you ever had colonoscopy?” This had nothing to do with the conversation. It surprised my son. It was just a “question she had.” Why then? Why at that time? Who knows?
This has caused me to think of the number of times you or I may have stepped back from asking questions we have? It may be because the question seemed out of context. We didn’t want to be
inappropriate. More often than not, it was because we didn’t want to seem naive. How much more insight might we have had into others or situations if we asked our questions.
You may have heard it said, “If you have to ask the food prices you can’t afford to go there.” What happens if I need to know the food prices to determine if I want to go there? Can’t it just be “a question I had?”
Google has opened up a whole new world for those who choose to boldly become question askers. Whatever happened to…? Why is it a hurricane in one part of the world and a typhoon in another? Who gets to pick street names? You get the idea.
There is a missing element in google question and answer. The element is human discourse and opinion. I understand very bright people believe such discourse might simply be a pooling of ignorance. Which it may be. I just feel there has to be something to pooling ideas, ignorant or otherwise, that helps shape thoughts, insights, and intuition.
I think, I think, I might try to take on my sister-in-law’s willingness to ask questions. Any question. Just to unearth opinions, ideas, and insights.
What do you think? It’s just a question I have.