# "I don't know what \_\_ is." Is this a stupid excuse now that we have Google? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943 "2015-03-25T15:38:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/41 "2015-03-26T21:32:02Z")
> [@Macca26](#): > > More like following instructions, period. In a previous job, I did phone support for alleged network administrators on a PBX-related product. One guy called in about once a week, usually with the same problem–he couldn’t add a user, which was one of the most basic operations in the system. Every time, we walked him through the process–usually reading directly from the manual, which he swore he had open in front of him–and found that he was skipping a step. Not always the same step, but always one of them. We finally printed out and laminated a sign with the instructions on it (in large print) and mailed it to him with instructions to tape it up beside his monitor. He did so. (We got someone else at his site to confirm it.) A week later, he called in with his usual problem, and we went through the routine again. He was–surprise–skipping a step. One that was printed in 24-point type right in front of him. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/42 "2015-03-26T21:43:27Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > So a few of my coworkers and I have been tasked with reviewing a bunch of technical reports. The other day, one of them told me she is having difficulty with the reports because she doesn’t know one of the statistical terms an author uses. > > This irritates me, I have to say. For one thing, while the author uses “dispersion” quite frequently, it’s not like it’s impossible to infer the meaning from the figures and context. And we aren’t being tasked with critiquing the statistical analyses. But really, what troubles me is that I strongly suspect this coworker has not bothered to consult Google to clear up her confusion. Before I formulate my answer, I have to say I’m not sure I totally understand the circumstances of why the coworker needs to understand the meaning of the word. I tried googling the answer to that, but I only found this thread. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/43 "2015-03-26T21:49:57Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Before I formulate my answer, I have to say I’m not sure I totally understand the circumstances of why the coworker needs to understand the meaning of the word. I tried googling the answer to that, but I only found this thread. This is what I get when I Google ‘what’s the definition of dispersion’ dis·per·sion diˈspərZHən,diˈspərSHən/ noun noun: dispersion ``` the action or process of distributing things or people over a wide area. "some seeds rely on birds for dispersion" the state of being dispersed over a wide area. "the general dispersion of Hellenistic culture" Ecology the pattern of distribution of individuals within a habitat. ``` ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/44 "2015-03-26T21:52:13Z")
One time I said to myself “I don’t know what goatse is”. And to remedy that, I followed the advice in this thread. :eek::eek::eek::eek: Ignorance isn’t always bad, is all I’m sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/45 "2015-03-27T00:53:18Z")
At my last job I was responsible for training and working closely with interns that were all around 20-25. The FIRST thing they learned was not to ask stupid questions (like “what time is it?” “what’s today?” and crap like that). The second thing was never to ask me a question if they couldn’t tell me the steps they tried to find the answer first. “I checked online under whojamawhatsies but I couldn’t find the answer to my exact question, can you help me?” YES! I told them I was old and could barely brain for myself, I didn’t have enough in me to brain for them too so they had to do it themselves. Most were fine but the few that were really hard to break out of the habit of asking me every single thing were the ones with no self confidence. When we worked on that they were able to function much better. I even had one girl who would ask me what she wanted for lunch. As in, she really had no concept of just going and buying whatever in the world she wanted- she was used to someone TELLING her what to eat. She got past it but she was a lot of work. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/46 "2015-03-27T01:01:47Z")
> [@BoBettie](#): > > At my last job I was responsible for training and working closely with interns that were all around 20-25. The FIRST thing they learned was not to ask stupid questions (like “what time is it?” “what’s today?” and crap like that). The second thing was never to ask me a question if they couldn’t tell me the steps they tried to find the answer first. Huh. I have no idea what your job is, but training your workers to be afraid to ask questions seems strange and unusual in any number of ways. I can only assume you don’t work at a nuclear power plant. Well, I don’t either, but if I did, and someone didn’t know what “warning, meltdown imminent” meant, I wouldn’t want them to be nervous about asking. OK, maybe that’s not exactly what you told them, but it’s probably what some of them heard. Especially if it really was the first thing they learned. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/47 "2015-03-27T01:37:37Z")
> [@XT](#): > > This is what I get when I Google ‘what’s the definition of dispersion’ > > dis·per·sion > diˈspərZHən,diˈspərSHən/ > noun > noun: dispersion. I googled “why does monstro coworker need to know definition dispersion” and I got this thread. You can try it yourself. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/48 "2015-03-27T01:53:08Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > In a previous job, I did phone support for alleged network administrators on a PBX-related product. One guy called in about once a week, usually with the same problem–he couldn’t add a user, which was one of the most basic operations in the system. Every time, we walked him through the process–usually reading directly from the manual, which he swore he had open in front of him–and found that he was skipping a step. Not always the same step, but always one of them. > > We finally printed out and laminated a sign with the instructions on it (in large print) and mailed it to him with instructions to tape it up beside his monitor. He did so. (We got someone else at his site to confirm it.) A week later, he called in with his usual problem, and we went through the routine again. He was–surprise–skipping a step. One that was printed in 24-point type right in front of him. I had a IT admin like your guy. It didn’t matter how carefully we (dev shop) wrote installation & configuration instructions. He would always leave out multiple steps and need our help to resolve the fouled up install. I finally realized he was sorta attention-span deprived and/or dyslexic. He just couldn’t read. Instead his eyes and brain would jump around the page locking in on this or that snippet of text. The only thing more frustrating than working with him was being him. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/49 "2015-03-27T02:16:48Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > I googled “why does monstro coworker need to know definition dispersion” and I got this thread. You can try it yourself. OK, I laughed. (For a moment there, I thought you were being serious about this being the first thread that came up in your google search. And I totally panicked! My coworker would not be amused if she googled “dispersion” and found me talking shit about her.) ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/50 "2015-03-27T02:23:04Z")
I gave my co-worker one instruction: reboot the computer before you ask for help. He was incapable of following that instruction. So every other day he’d pop into my office and describe his problem, and I’d ask him if he’d rebooted, and he’d give me his reasons for why he hasn’t rebooted yet, and I’d send him back to his office to reboot, and three minutes later he’d call to say his computer was up and running again, all fixed. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/51 "2015-03-27T13:13:20Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Huh. I have no idea what your job is, but training your workers to be afraid to ask questions seems strange and unusual in any number of ways. I see what you mean, but there needs to be a balance. I’ve worked with people who ask questions that they should not be asking if they want to be taken seriously in their positions, and its hard to resist the urge to slap them when they later complain about not being handed more responsibility. I applaud the idea of training people to understand that, contrary to conventional wisdom, there is such a thing as a stupid question. It’s a self-awareness thing. If you don’t know when to keep your ignorance to yourself and rectify it quietly without advertising your inability to fill your own knowledge gaps, then that calls into question your judgment as a whole. “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.” ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/52 "2015-03-27T13:24:58Z")
Co-worker has a girlfriend who owns an iPad. I use Mac equipment all the time, so I guess I’m the "‘ask him, he knows Mac’ guy now. So he actually brings her iPad with him to work one day to show me what error message is popping up on the screen. I go to Google, type in the exact text from the error message, search, and find steps to resolve it. He says " I knew you would know how to fix it." :smack: He SAW me Google the answer and follow step by step instructions! :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/53 "2015-03-27T13:47:43Z")
Another thing is people don’t seem to understand HOW to search. If the problem is drawing red circles on a map in photoshop, please don’t just Google photoshop. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/54 "2015-03-27T13:51:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I had a IT admin like your guy. It didn’t matter how carefully we (dev shop) wrote installation & configuration instructions. He would always leave out multiple steps and need our help to resolve the fouled up install. > > I finally realized he was sorta attention-span deprived and/or dyslexic. He just couldn’t read. Instead his eyes and brain would jump around the page locking in on this or that snippet of text. > > The only thing more frustrating than working with him was being him. Thank you for this post. I’m working with a guy who can communicate well verbally but not via email (he doesn’t respond to the actual question I’m asking). I’ll keep in mind that this could be an issue and go for a vocal conversation as often as possible. (He’s in Nepal, but hey, I’m a night owl, so it should be fine.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/55 "2015-03-27T13:59:39Z")
I finally caught on after I got to sit next to him doing yet another installation repair versus our usual RDC / screenshare method. I think the modern web strongly encourages what I call quasi-dyslexia. Consider a typical commercial web page. Half of the page space is irritating distractors (ads) you need to actively ignore. Which are explicitly designed by experts to be difficult to ignore. Another decent fraction is the so-called chrome, standard navigation bars, etc. Another fraction is branding. And buried somewhere in all that noise is the actual article you came to read. Which now has ever more interstitial ads slipped into it as we become better at ignoring the non-interstitials. The “right” way to read that web page is to wave your eyes more-or-less randomly at it until you stumble on some identifiable actual content, then skim upwards until you find the top, then start reading down, leaving out a good 50% of the left & right margins as you go. Contrast that with reading a well-published book. It’s no wonder kids (i.e. under ~30 yo) can’t read for comprehension, and even more so the ones with ADHD or tending that way. Which tendencies are exacerbated by modern media & modern toys / IT devices in all forms. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/56 "2015-03-27T14:10:17Z")
Late add: If you can contrive to do an RDC / screenshare where you can watch him do anything, from reading email to editing a document, you might learn a lot. What made me suspicious at first was how the guy operated his mouse. He’d been an admin for years, and knew all the typical tools cold. And he could type command line at 100 wpm, albeit with lots of backspace & redo. But still his mouse would jump all over the screen before settling on the appropriate GUI control. In a complex UI he’d briefly hover over 3 or 4 wrong things before settling on the right one. This wasn’t a matter of screenshare latency; this was the way he actually operated. Which I saw in spades when I sat with him. I had noticed the mouse weirdness earlier, but hadn’t grasped the significance. Give it a try & let us know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/57 "2015-03-27T15:41:19Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Google is actually the lazy person’s best friend. How are you the lazy one when you took the time to look up the solution and apply it? I have a pet theory that the people that don’t use Google actually know how to use it to solve their own problems, but instead are so lazy they go to their gurus feigning ignorance. It’s a win-win. The gurus are self-satisfied in their own problem solving techniques and the people who asked them are satisfied with their delegation of the task. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/58 "2015-03-27T15:51:32Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > How are you the lazy one when you took the time to look up the solution and apply it? Google is the path of least resistance, in my experience. Being on the lazy end of the spectrum when it comes to certain things, I know that it is unlikely I’d use google so much if it actually wasn’t the easy way out for me. But of course, the only reason its easy for me is because fixing things myself is a habit. My comment was not meant to be taken literally. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/59 "2015-03-27T15:59:56Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Google is the path of least resistance, in my experience. Being on the lazy end of the spectrum when it comes to certain things, I know that it is unlikely I’d use google so much if it actually wasn’t the easy way out for me. But of course, the only reason its easy for me is because fixing things myself is a habit. > > My comment was not meant to be taken literally. I’m confused. Are you looking for the path of most resistance? Then you could ignore search engines altogether and spend the time and gas to drive down to your local brick and mortar resource to find the same answer. Granted, Google is not the end-all, be-all of answers but in my experience it helps. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943/60 "2015-03-27T16:08:29Z")
> [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](#): > > I’m confused. Have you consulted [google](http://bigthink.com/wikimind/is-human-laziness-human-nature)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-know-what-__-is-is-this-a-stupid-excuse-now-that-we-have-google/715943.md?page=4)