# Is there such a thing as a dumb question? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022 "2012-01-28T21:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/21 "2012-01-29T12:28:44Z")
Personal theory: yes there is such a thing as a dumb question. Such a question would be one asked by an adult that lacks the fundamental comprehension of the world that, say, an educated twelve-year-old would have. Similar to the “bathe naked” and “skin inside-out” question, I could also suggest stuff like “Why do we walk on our feet and not our hands?” “Why does my bag get heavier when I put a hammer in it?” “Why do cars have wheels?” Asked by a four-year-old, these questions would be evidence of a keen mind that is developing its awareness, but asked by an adult in the context of modern society, particularly one with access to the Internet, they’re just astonishing. (Q.v. much of the stuff asked in GQ by **Jinx** and to a lesser extent **Ralph** ) ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/22 "2012-01-29T12:41:35Z")
On a dog-focused board I used to frequent: “My dog just had puppies! How can I tell the boys from the girls?” I voted yes, there are dumb questions. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/23 "2012-01-29T14:36:27Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Similar to the “bathe naked” and “skin inside-out” question, I could also suggest stuff like “Why do we walk on our feet and not our hands?” “ **Why does my bag get heavier when I put a hammer in it?** ” “Why do cars have wheels?” Questioner may be playing too many video games, possibly the _Legend of Zelda_ series. The [Iron Boots](http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Boots) let Link walk on the bottom of lakes, but when he puts them away in his bag, they have no effect on his weight anymore. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/24 "2012-01-29T14:45:42Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > A doctor I worked for had one of those demotivational posters that asked this question. The answer was, “No, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots”. [Here it is](http://www.despair.com/cluelessness.html) - love the Despair website!! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/25 "2012-01-29T17:18:34Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > It’s possible he was whooshing you. “What is mulch?” is a running gag in [comics](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groo_the_Wanderer)by Sergio Aragonés. > > If you knew the meme you would have replied thusly:\* “Mulching is a process of inbred fertilization which employs certain decomposed organic materials-- including, but not limited to animal sediment-- to blanket an area in which vegetation is desired. The procedure enriches the soil for stimulated plant development while, at the same time, preventing erosion and decreasing the evaporation of moisture from the ground.”\* Not this guy. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/26 "2012-01-29T17:28:32Z")
Once I was standing next to the largest redwood in the world. Not just the tallest redwood, this thing was the tallest living thing in the entire world. I’m standing there is awe looking at this amazing thing. This dude wanders up to me and asks, “Hey, um, aren’t there supposed to be some tall trees around here somewhere?” Yes, there are stupid questions. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/27 "2012-01-29T20:41:30Z")
Millions of them, was yours one of them? Yeah ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/28 "2012-01-29T22:11:27Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Not this guy. Well, I was whooshed anyway :o ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/29 "2012-01-29T23:50:42Z")
You see it on the news every night. Reporters ask the dumbest questions imaginable. “The city just sent a bulldozer to your property and razed your house by mistake. How angry are you?” ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/30 "2012-01-30T00:26:51Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Reporters ask the dumbest questions imaginable. Indeed. I once heard this in a post-game interview with an offensive lineman who’d picked up a fumble and lumbered 30 yards for a TD: “Were you aware that this was your first NFL touchdown?” I’d say that qualifies as a dumb question by even the strictest standards. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/31 "2012-01-30T00:59:43Z")
I am a mother of boy and girl twins and had the following conversation more than twice when they were babies. Me: Yes, twins. A boy and a girl. Them: Are they identical? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/32 "2012-01-30T01:22:27Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I am a mother of boy and girl twins and had the following conversation more than twice when they were babies. > > Me: Yes, twins. A boy and a girl. > Them: Are they identical? And good old “How long have you two been twins?” ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/33 "2012-01-30T01:44:06Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I am a mother of boy and girl twins and had the following conversation more than twice when they were babies. > > Me: Yes, twins. A boy and a girl. > Them: Are they identical? I actually got into a heated argument with some “friends” in high school who claimed that twins could be identical and also be different genders. It’s quite sad actually. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/34 "2012-01-30T01:59:55Z")
I don’t think any genuine question is inherently dumb, but there are stupid reasons to ask questions. I remember in Peace Corps medical training, people tend to get really nervous about the health dangers in the developing world and try to calm themselves by asking questions about every possible contingency- which always caused these sessions to run over. One memorable question was “What happens if I am in a situation where I need to inject life saving medicine or else I will die, and the only needle anywhere around is dirty, and there is no bleach or hot water or anything to even pretend to sterilize with it.” Our gruff Nigerian nurse, bless her, looked the questioner straight in the eye and said “Well, you can die now, or you can die later. It’s your choice. Okay, next question?” > [@ultrafilter](#): > > I once had an adult sincerely ask me what mulch is. If there are any dumb questions, that’s one of them. Maybe it was a city person? I don’t think I really knew what mulch was until I started working at a community garden last year. I had some vague idea that it had to do with gardening, but when I was asked to mulch the plants, I was really embarrassed that I didn’t know what that entailed. I grew up in an apartment building and had never really been around gardening, and it’s not a word that gets used a lot in literature. If you didn’t grow up with lawns, mulch is pretty easy to miss. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/35 "2012-01-30T02:37:54Z")
I was once riding around with a guy who wasn’t the sharpest tack in the box. We passed some sort of place called “Surgery Center” and I joked that we could get our appendixes removed. He asked, “So we can donate them to other people who need an appendix?” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/36 "2012-01-30T02:43:27Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > Is there such a thing as a dumb question? Sometimes the answer to a question is the question itself. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/37 "2012-01-30T02:57:05Z")
Student: What problem is after #9? The number is punched out. I can’t help thinking that’s a stupid question. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/38 "2012-01-30T03:35:07Z")
I don’t tell my young students that there are stupid questions, but I do refuse (in general) to answer “what if” questions, because otherwise they’ll drag on forever. “But what if we’re walking in the hall and I see a spider on the back of the person in front of me–can I talk then? What if there’s a lockdown drill and my mom knocks on the window, can I go over to her? What if we’re doing homework and my brother tells me all the answers, do I need to write that on the paper?” and on and on and on. Instead, I tell my students, I (in general) trust your judgment: in weird circumstances, do your best to figure out what the right thing to do is, based on our rules and on what it means to be a kind, responsible student. As for the OP, I’ll answer it not yes or no, but rather with an anecdote from which the reader may draw conclusions. “Walk in a circle with your partner,” the professor directed, “and tell one another one fact you know about the Revolutionary War. This is a great activity to do with your own students!” (she was wrong, of course). “Bad directions,” I smirked at my partner, “there’s more than one revolution. So that’ll be the thing I know about the Revolutionary War: you gotta say the American Revolution if you wanna be specific.” My partner just looked at me wide-eyed. “I don’t know anything about the revolutionary war. Who was president then?” “Uh, there wasn’t a president. That was kind of the point.” “Oh, okay. So who was the first president? Was it George Washington\*?” - And no, not John Hanson, just no, you’re missing the point. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/39 "2012-01-30T04:31:55Z")
“I know this is probably a dumb question, but are there clams in clam chowder?” :smack: (Actual question from a former coworker.) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022/40 "2012-01-30T04:39:17Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > “I know this is probably a dumb question, but are there clams in clam chowder?” > > :smack: > > (Actual question from a former coworker.) Well…I’m told there aren’t any plums in plum pudding, so, just going by the name isn’t always enough… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-dumb-question/611022.md?page=3)