# Is there such thing as a stupid question? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 11, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361 "2019-02-11T20:56:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scarface54345](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@scarface54345](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarface54345)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/1 "2019-02-11T20:56:45Z")
Some will say there is no such thing as a stupid question but just only stupid people. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/2 "2019-02-11T21:09:17Z")
That’s like saying “There are no racist statements, only racist people.” Of course a statement can be stupid and/or reflect the character of the person asking it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/3 "2019-02-11T21:11:13Z")
“It’s Blindfolded Roller Blade Night at the ice rink-You in?” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/4 "2019-02-11T21:12:07Z")
The only place I’ve heard that is on _South Park_. And it was used to show that Mr. Garrison is a terrible teacher. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/5 "2019-02-11T21:19:47Z")
> [@scarface54345](#): > > Some will say there is no such thing as a stupid question but just only stupid people. What do you think? Can stupid people ask smart questions? If not, then the existence of stupid people kind of implies stupid questions exist. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/6 "2019-02-11T21:24:22Z")
Of course stupid people can ask smart questions. Even all-around stupid people can sometimes ask a smart question by accident. And there are some people out there who are “stupid” in the sense that they can’t answer questions very well, but who are great at asking very smart questions. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/7 "2019-02-11T21:31:51Z")
Moved from GD to IMHO. [/moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/8 "2019-02-11T21:34:08Z")
I used to have a poster on my wall that said, “There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.” ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/9 "2019-02-11T21:52:23Z")
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/10 "2019-02-11T21:56:45Z")
In response to a student’s question, my high school Latin teacher replied, “There are no stupid questions, but if there were, that would be one”. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/11 "2019-02-11T22:08:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course stupid people can ask smart questions. Even all-around stupid people can sometimes ask a smart question by accident. And there are some people out there who are “stupid” in the sense that they can’t answer questions very well, but who are great at asking very smart questions. There is a lot to address here. One, I actually agree that stupid people are capable of asking smart questions. My post merely posed the hypothetical that started with the assumption that they couldnt do so, in order to further facilitate the discussion. Two, if someone asks a smart question by accident, that implies that they have no understanding of why it is regarded by non-stupid people as a smart question. The stupid person was trying to get an answer to something that they just so happened to pose in a way that communicated much more nuance and understanding than intended. If we actually broke down the question for what it was, what information was being sought by asking it, wouldn’t it still have to be regarded as a stupid, or at least non-smart question? And finally, the person who cant answer questions very well but excels at asking them, who you describe as “stupid” is not stupid at all. Just like people on the spectrum aren’t lacking in empathy, they just cannot express it well. The person struggling with answering questions simply has a deficiency in the presence/quality of tools needed to harness their intelligence to use in the narrowly defined context of question answering. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/12 "2019-02-11T22:21:17Z")
What i would disagree with is the idea that a stupid person can ask a smart question purely by accident. A question asked with a different answer being sought than the answer that the question is assumed to be seeking by those to whom the question is posed is not a smart question. It is a poorly communicated question that just so happens to unintentionally ask something else which is beyond the scope of the questioner’s understanding. It’s a question that _would_ have been a smart question, if it was what the person asking the question was trying to have answered. But it accidently _sounded_ like something it was not, namely a smart question. ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/13 "2019-02-12T00:34:48Z")
It’s a platitude intended to convey that it’s smart to ask questions and you’re stupid if you don’t. Does the early bird really get the worm? Or do the best things come to those who wait? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/14 "2019-02-12T01:12:02Z")
> [@Littleman](#): > > It’s a platitude intended to convey that it’s smart to ask questions and you’re stupid if you don’t. > > Does the early bird really get the worm? > Or do the best things come to those who wait? Should I buy 20 Powerball tickets so I can get that pink Bugatti for my girl or just save up so I can rent that big plasma tv that maw was telling me about (that I hope to one day own)? (read in Cletus Spuckler voice) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/15 "2019-02-12T01:15:57Z")
> [@Littleman](#): > > It’s a platitude intended to convey that it’s smart to ask questions and you’re stupid if you don’t. > > Does the early bird really get the worm? > Or do the best things come to those who wait? The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/16 "2019-02-12T01:32:58Z")
Why? (;)) ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/17 "2019-02-12T01:42:43Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Should I buy 20 Powerball tickets so I can get that pink Bugatti for my girl or just save up so I can rent that big plasma tv that maw was telling me about (that I hope to one day own)? (read in Cletus Spuckler voice) Don’t do either of those. See, now wasn’t it smart of Cletus to ask? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/18 "2019-02-12T01:44:43Z")
A stupid question is one which proves the person wasn’t paying attention. Like the “Why male models?” question in _Zoolander_, which the character asked right after another character gave an in-depth answer to that exact question. The person asking that stupid question might or might not be stupid, but smart people can do stupid things. (The divorce court demonstrates that much.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/19 "2019-02-12T01:51:10Z")
> [@scarface54345](#): > > Some will say there is no such thing as a stupid question but just only stupid people. What do you think? Allow me to quote [a great 21st century philosopher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPBIDuZpGzI): > [@Chris Porter](#): > > This whole “there’s no such thing as a stupid question” bullshit ends in high school. This is life. We’re playin’ for points. And there are a shit-ton of stupid questions. Like when I was in the lobby of a hotel in Oklahoma and a middle-aged woman approached me and said “excuse me; is that the elevator?” > > \ > > Are you shittin’ me? What other door looks like this? NO; matter of fact, I want you to name another fucking door that opens magically from the middle and has two buttons on the side. NAME IT! You think people are walking in there and disappearing? Is this an episode of _Star Trek_? No; that’s prolly the goddamn elevator, isn’t it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361/20 "2019-02-12T02:19:07Z")
> [@Littleman](#): > > Don’t do either of those. > > See, now wasn’t it smart of Cletus to ask? _error_ _error_ \*option not pre-loaded into thinkin box [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-thing-as-a-stupid-question/829361.md?page=2)