18
Noticed a pattern in how people ask questions at my local library's Q&A nights
Last month I started going to the monthly ask-anything gathering at the library on Main Street in Dayton. Three sessions in, I'm seeing something weird. About half the people start their question with 'this might be stupid, but' and then ask something totally normal like how to hunt for a mortgage or what to feed a picky cat. The other half just dive in with no warning and ask about super niche stuff like tax liens or composting toilet laws. I mentioned this to the librarian who runs it and she said she's seen the same thing for 7 years now. She thinks it's about how people learned to ask questions as kids, either from parents who encouraged curiosity or teachers who made them fear being wrong. I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this split in real life groups, or if it's just my corner of Ohio.
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
the_max23d ago
Maybe the split has less to do with how people were raised and more with their job or social circle. Accountants, engineers, and tradespeople are used to asking blunt questions with missing context because that's how it works at work. Folks in customer service or retail learn to soften everything because they've been chewed out for sounding dumb.
7