Human nature being what it is, when someone asks “how can I best do X”, giving a straight answer will often be taken as validation of doing X. This makes me wary of answering such questions without saying “X is stupid”.
What I meant was that stupid questions can be asked without the poser of the question being mass downvoted, or being repudiated as an incredibly stupid person who should go away and who is then discouraged from asking even good questions. Often, the questions in the Stupid Questions threads were not about what one person should do. For example, someone asked the question: “how do I talk to strangers?”
However, I don’t mean that the premise of a ‘stupid’ question can’t be rejected, or criticized. For example, some of the questions about what I should do were replied to with ‘don’t do that’. Of course, figuring out what supplements are worth taking, or what to study in university, aren’t ‘stupid’ questions. However, some questions will seem dumb, so do criticize or reject them, just without making it personal.
If someone asks the question ‘how do I do X?’, that implies that doing X is a good idea. So, I recommend people either explain their reasons for believing an intent to act is justified, or at least ask everyone else if it’s worth doing, directly prior to asking how they go about doing it.
Jiro, next time you’re responding to a stupid question, maybe we can try stating “I don’t X is:
worth your time.”
what you should do.”
what most people can succeed at doing.”
etc.
Then, explain the reason(s) why, and suggest why they should choose an alternative, included neglected ones.
If this is still on LessWrong, then how others concur, or vote, will be an indicator of if everyone else thinks that a good idea. If it is, and the original poser of the question doesn’t heed the warning, then we’ve tried the best we can, and we can’t force the other person not to act. Of course, if you think someone is in danger, then maybe repudiating what someone intends to do as stupid and dangerous and being sterner/harsher could be warranted.
Human nature being what it is, when someone asks “how can I best do X”, giving a straight answer will often be taken as validation of doing X. This makes me wary of answering such questions without saying “X is stupid”.
Upvoted
What I meant was that stupid questions can be asked without the poser of the question being mass downvoted, or being repudiated as an incredibly stupid person who should go away and who is then discouraged from asking even good questions. Often, the questions in the Stupid Questions threads were not about what one person should do. For example, someone asked the question: “how do I talk to strangers?”
However, I don’t mean that the premise of a ‘stupid’ question can’t be rejected, or criticized. For example, some of the questions about what I should do were replied to with ‘don’t do that’. Of course, figuring out what supplements are worth taking, or what to study in university, aren’t ‘stupid’ questions. However, some questions will seem dumb, so do criticize or reject them, just without making it personal.
If someone asks the question ‘how do I do X?’, that implies that doing X is a good idea. So, I recommend people either explain their reasons for believing an intent to act is justified, or at least ask everyone else if it’s worth doing, directly prior to asking how they go about doing it.
Jiro, next time you’re responding to a stupid question, maybe we can try stating “I don’t X is:
worth your time.”
what you should do.”
what most people can succeed at doing.”
etc.
Then, explain the reason(s) why, and suggest why they should choose an alternative, included neglected ones.
If this is still on LessWrong, then how others concur, or vote, will be an indicator of if everyone else thinks that a good idea. If it is, and the original poser of the question doesn’t heed the warning, then we’ve tried the best we can, and we can’t force the other person not to act. Of course, if you think someone is in danger, then maybe repudiating what someone intends to do as stupid and dangerous and being sterner/harsher could be warranted.