Do you agree with "There are no stupid questions" statement?

[Reg Morrison]

In this age of political correctness, one of the things that irks me is the

"there are no stupid questions" ​

statement. In my mind, there are stupid questions and, while people should not be chastised for asking them, pretending that there are no stupid questions is silly and just another platitude people say but don't really mean....

What do you think?

It is possible someone will say: that is a stupid question to ask

 

[Michael_M]

I base the answer on "there are no stupid questions" on who is asking the question:

An employee asks (honestly looking for the answer): "What is 2 + 2" because he/she is not willing to figure it out.

Vs.

A 4 year old asking "what is 2 + 2"

I will help the 4 year old, while I think the question is stupid for the employee to ask.

 

[Miner]

While there are definitely situations where someone might ask a question to which they could easily have obtained an answer online, or to which with a little serious thought they could have reasoned it out for themselves, I (in the role of instructor, facilitator, etc.) still use this phrase because, if I don't, serious questions often go unasked for fear of appearing stupid. I would rather deal with a few irritating questions than allow a single serious question go unanswered.

 

[Reg Morrison]

I base the answer on "there are no stupid questions" on who is asking the question.

Michael, I agree with you that context is very important.

 

[John Broomfield]

Treating the questioner as a fool, even if they should know better, is likely to stop the learning process in its tracks.

Respectful listening and careful answering may reveal a deeper question behind the "stupid" question.

 

[somashekar]

There are no stupid questions because there are no "know all, tell all" people ...
We see the question only, but seldom get to know the context of the question and the background from which the person comes up with one.
The branding of a question as stupid stems from purely our own understanding.

 

[RoxaneB]

I don't blame the question for being stupid...I blame the per...oh, wait...we're not suppose to blame people either. Darn. #QualityProfessionalDilemma

 

[Peter Fraser]

Reg

That is a really stupid question...

 

[normzone]

While there are definitely situations where someone might ask a question to which they could easily have obtained an answer online, or to which with a little serious thought they could have reasoned it out for themselves, I (in the role of instructor, facilitator, etc.) still use this phrase because, if I don't, serious questions often go unasked for fear of appearing stupid. I would rather deal with a few irritating questions than allow a single serious question go unanswered.

Yes - that's the purpose of the saying.

 

[Jen Kirley]

When auditing I ask stupid questions all the time.