… and why is this community against them?
Ppl take lemmy too seriously. You remember all that negativity from reddit?
Yea, that’s mostly here on lemmy now. Reddit has become much more pleasant since they’ve moved here.
Reddit is not without its issues. Only saying the difference is noticeable for sure.
I opened this thread hoping for exactly this, and was not disappointed.
In my just over a year here and using him as my avatar, I think this is the first time I’ve actually said the line lol.
I thought i remember a thread from when you first created that account where we were all making you say the line.
Oh, yeah. I did, lol. That was fun. Forgot about that.
But that was deliberately in-character. I think this is the first time I just threw it out
People have already correctly answered that in this community there are no stupid questions, you’re supposed to be able to ask anything without ridicule. But if you want to permit the general existence of stupid questions, here’s the definition I’ve always used.
A stupid question is one you can easily answer yourself.
As in, any question due to real lack of knowledge is not stupid, but if you can answer your own question just by thinking about it for a second, then it wasn’t necessary to ask and therefore "stupid”.
I always thought as tho the meaning of the sub name is to make fun of people who do not awnser “stupid questions” by saying that they are forbidden from the sub.
Maybe I’m just stupid lol
This is the safe space to ask a question you have that you are afraid other people would find stupid.
It’s especially good for things some people feel are common sense, but that others just managed to miss growing up.
Here’s an example. My husband is really smart. But he moved schools a lot over a 3 year period. He managed to completely miss kids being taught 1 is January, 2 is February, etc for dates. He just never learned it.
He knows his birthday in number form. But if he needs, say May 23rd in number form, he’ll look it up or ask me which number May is.
Some people would classify that as a stupid question and be a dick about it. I just answer him. I know he’s tried to learn it, he’s just never sure if he’s right and knows I know.
This sub operates under the good faith that there are no stupid questions, just people who legit missed something along the way.
In life, I would argue, there are stupid questions. But for me, it’s only in situations where someone is clearly just asking questions to make you break, or clearly not listening and asking the same questions over and over without even trying to pay attention, and lastly, weaponized incompetence where people are acting like that because they don’t want to do something and won’t just say no. Basically questions that are exclusively to waste someone else’s time are the only really stupid questions irl imho
But here, you get the benefit of the doubt if you don’t know how to properly brush your teeth, or why May is 5 and July is 7.
I believe the name originated on reddit, and an accurate name would be “thereAreNoStupidQuestionsHere” but the shorter version is what got the brand recognition, but the confusion is understandable
This is it - the stupid question. It displays a complete lack of understanding and utter laziness.
It’s perfect. It screams “I read the name of the community and took no other action to learn more about it before posting.”
This is how you do it, folks
Congratulations @frankenswine
If it’s so easy, why didn’t you link the answer?
The only stupid questions are the ones you don’t ask. The full name of this community should be understood to be “[There are] no stupid questions”
But if that’s true, aren’t there infinite stupid questions, by definition? Because there are infinite unasked questions.
Yup. So go out there and make the world a smarter place by asking about things you don’t know about. Just don’t use this as a license to be a JAQ-off
Then we’re going to be here a while.
Thank you for a good answer
The name of the community comes from the idiom, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” The idea is that as long as the person asking the question genuinely wants to learn, then there is no question they can ask that would make them stupid because they’re trying to educate themselves - one of the least stupid things you can do.
Some people feel shame at not knowing something, so they’ll often talk down to themselves and call it a stupid question. This is particularly true if the asker feels it’s something that they should already know or everyone around them seems to already know.
This community offers a place where you can ask a question, no matter how small or basic, without fear of being made fun of. In a sense, you might say that the community welcomes stupid questions while at the same time reassuring the questioner that the question is not actually stupid.
Along the same lines, ignorance shouldn’t be seen as a negative unless it is willful. There is just so many things that not everyone experiences or has received conflicting information about to say being unaware is a negative until the person refuses to learn.
You’ve definitely not been in my latest work-related course. Dayum, people are able to ask some really stupid questions. (Subjective opinion)
Obvious bait
but to answer your stupid question: Things that could be easily answered by a google search are pretty stupid to post here. The implied intention of this community, and the subreddit it was inspired by, is to provide a space for people to ask questions that don’t have an immediately identifiable and/or definite answer and require certain social understanding to navigate.
“How many gallons of water to fill a pool?”, for example, is a question that does not belong here because you could easily find that info using a search engine (or even better, your pool’s owner’s manual).
“How do you know when you’ve been swindled?” is something that does belong however, because it’s asking for personal experience to help navigate a situation that cannot be provided by a search engine.
See, I don’t need the answer to how many gallons of water to fill a pool so I won’t bother looking it up. But if someone replied I’d read it out of curiosity and be better for it. Discussions aren’t just 1 on 1 dialogos, they’re broad and general to a broad and general audience.
Wait, we can’t have 50 different versions of similar sex questions here?
I’ll take this question in the spirit of the community you posted to. “No stupid questions” refers to the saying “there is no such thing as a stupid question,” which is an aphorism meant to destigmatize expressing ignorance. This is supposed to be a place to ask the questions you might be afraid to ask because you assume everybody else already knows.
The other posters are responding a bit comedically at the notion that this community is fundamentally opposed to asking “stupid questions” when it’s traditionally been a space for “I’ve been afraid to ask, but are you supposed to use shampoo or conditioner first?” type questions.
which is an aphorism meant to destigmatize expressing ignorance
teacher of mine expressed it in the form of “there are two types of questions - smart ones and those you shouldn’t be ashamed to ask”.
I’ll have a go at this.
“No stupid questions” is something I think is applicable to any attempt at gaining knowledge, insight or perspective. “How big helicopter would you need to hoist an ice cube to the sun to extinguish it?” Though absurd, there might be a disconnect of knowledge, and the question reveals other things which could be explained.
To me, a stupid question would be some kind of rhetoric which doesn’t seek information, but instead attempts to redicule and push own standpoints or beliefs. “Have you gotten over that religious faith yet?” or “Do you realize how dumb your political views are?”. These are examples of ineffective and condescending and will likely just leave the other person with reinforced standpoints in addition to annoyance. I find that to be a stupid approach and thus a stupid question.
I don’t really know, but it’s my gut feeling.
The helicopter example sounds like it would make for a great What If?. There’s so many good things in there I want answered.
Well…
“Do women also shake off the fuel hose after they’re done or is it just male habit?”
- would be a stupid question
Yes, I shake the fuel nozzle. After dribbling gasoline down the car’s paint more than once, I always tap tap before I pull it completely out.
- source, am woman
But do they also unzip before?
You unzip? Maybe that’s why I go through so many pants every day.
I’ve often wondered, and occasionally asked people:
Is this question, as I’m asking now with this sent
aence, a stupid question?Yes, because you misspelled sentence
What about now?
Perfekt
Good joke, you made me laugh!
Once someone asked if Stephen and Stephen were pronounced the same. Presumably they meant “Steven” for one of those, but the question as written was dumb.
Am a Stephen. No, pronounced the other way
What’s up Stevfen!
I have one for those that worked at Disney World. “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?”
I had a customer ask how much chicken is in an 8 piece
